The Best Thing That's Ever Been Mine
by CookieDoughSundae
Summary: Because everything in highschool's a popularity contest. AU. Finchel-centric, Shell, Quick.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! This is a new story I am working on with my good friend **Dolphinsaregaysharks19**. We really hope you like it and please review!_

_By the way, This story is AU. Shelby's last name is Berry in this story, and she is Rachel's mother. Mr. Schuester is Rachel's father. _

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

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It was a nippy October afternoon in the town of Lima, in Ohio. The William McKinley High students were in their last class of the day before going home for the weekend. Rachel Berry sat in her seat in Spanish class, behind her bestfriend, Quinn Fabray. Rachel was the popular girl in school. The leader of the bunch. She was head Cheerio, along with Quinn, who was co-captain. The class was currently discussing their upcoming trip on Monday.

"Everyone should be outside the school at 7 a.m sharp. If your late, the bus _will _leave without you." said their Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester. They were going on a week-long camping trip, which Rachel was excited for, although she wouldn't tell anyone. Her parents always took her camping when she was younger.

"Alright, it looks like everything is in order... I have all of your permission forms. Now we just need to split up into partners.." The curly-haired man said. The class started chippering excitedly, and turned to their friends to plan who would partner up with whom.

"No, guys! You guys aren't choosing your own partners." Mr. Schuester said, earning a groan from the class. "Instead, you will draw a name out of a hat." Mr. Schuester explained. Rachel raised her hand.

"Da- I mean, Mr. Schuester, what if we draw a member of the opposite sex?" She asked and Mr. Schuester smirked.

"Good question, Rachel. I discussed it with Principal Figgins, and we both decided it would be alright if we had co-ed cabins. So that's what we're going to do. You guys are all mature enough to handle it." He answered. "_Everyone _will be co-ed." A student with a mohawk raised his hand.

"Yes, Puck?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Even _you_, Mr. Schue?" Puck asked, wiggling his eyebrows, earning a glare from Rachel.

"No, Puck. I will have my own cabin, as will the other teachers." Mr. Schuester explained shaking his head in laughter. "Alright, guys, let's get back on topic. I already have the names written on pieces of paper, and they are in a hat. The girls will come up when I call their names and they will draw a piece of paper. Remember, once you get your partner, no changing!" He said, as he turned to get his notepad. He started calling up the girls, one by one, until it was Rachel's turn, and all the guys were either looking eager, or depressed that they were already taken. Except for one boy.

"Alright, Rachel, come up and chose" said Mr. Schuester. Rachel got out of her seat and walked up to the front, her ponytail swaying left and right as she moved. Rachel then drew a piece of paper.

"Finn Hudson" She read aloud, and most of the guys groaned. Rachel turned to look at Finn. He looked uninterested. He was staring out the window. Rachel then turned to walk back to her seat.

"Quinn, your the last one. Come up and pick" Their teacher said, and Quinn quickly got up and traveled to where Mr. Schuester was, and like Rachel, her ponytail was also swaying as she moved. She reached into the hat, fumbled around with a few pieces before pulling one out. Her eyes widened as she read the name.

"Noah Puckerman.." She said, before walking back to her seat. Puck's eyes were wide, as they watched her.

"Alright, now that everyone has partners, I'll let you guys go a little early today." Mr. Will Schuester said and the class cheered. "Go on guys, make sure you pack everything you need! Double-check the list I gave you! See you all on Monday!" He dismissed them and they did not hesitate to leave. Quinn and Rachel walked through the halls and went to their lockers, which were conveniently located near each other.

"That Puckerman kid kept looking at me" Quinn said, with a disgusted tone in her voice. For some reason, Quinn despised him. Rachel didn't think he was that bad, she didn't even really know him that well. And she would never have the chance to. Puck, and his bestfriend Finn, were outcasts, and she was Miss. Popularity. Along with Quinn.

"He was probably shocked that you two are partnered up." Rachel replied.

"I'm shocked too, who knew I had such bad luck? What did I ever do to you, God? " Quinn said, looking up. Rachel chuckled, earning a glare from her bestfriend.

"I feel pretty bad for you, Rach. You get partnered up with _Finn_!" Quinn said, a scared tone in her voice when she said his name.

"Oh, come _on_! He can't be _that_ bad." Rachel defended. Rachel was actually looking forward to trying to get to know him, the only time he talked was when a teacher called on him. Other than that, he only talked to Puck. Rachel had seen him around, he looked familiar, and _cute_. Sure, she couldn't go out with him, but she didn't really want to.

"Ugh, Alright, Rachel. I'm going to head home before I get sick. I'll see you Monday. Is your Dad still driving us?" Quinn asked.

"Duh, Quinn. My Dad is _going_ on the trip. He _arranged _it." Rachel said laughing and shaking her head.

"Alright. Bye, bye! I'll text you later!" Quinn said, hugging Rachel before running off. Rachel closed her locked, and saw Finn Hudson and Noah 'Puck' Puckerman walking. She decided to talk to him. Rachel walked up to Finn.

"Hey, Finn!" She said brightly, before remembering Puck was also there. "Hello, Noah!" She said, a little less brightly.

"H-hi, Rachel." Puck stammered. "Uh, I have to get going. I'll see you on Monday, Finn. Bye! Bye, Rachel" Puck said before storming off.

"So, Finn. You excited for the trip?" She chippered. Finn looked glum, and he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really a talking person, huh?" She asked. Finn shook his head.

"That's alright, we have the whole week ahead to talk. I should go, my Dad is waiting for me at the car. Do you want a ride?" She offered. Finn shook his head 'no'.

"Well, alright... I'll see you on Monday. Bye, Finn! Have a great weekend!" She said, cheerily before skipping off.

Finn headed out of the school, and on the long road to his house. He was excited about the trip, he loved camping. Though, he didn't really show any emotions to anyone other than Puck. His mind wandered to thoughts of what they might do on the trip, and didn't notice 3 people gang up on him.

"Yo! _Hudson!_" Yelled a boy from his school. He recognized him as Azimo. A football player. There was 1 other football player surrounding him. He only knew the names of two, though.

"You think you're the big man on campus, now that the Queen bee is being bunked in a room with you?" Said Dave Karofsky. Finn didn't reply. He just rolled his eyes. _'These football players are really dumb. I didn't brag or even mention being partnered up with Rachel. Dumbasses' _He thought.

"Oh, now your rolling your eyes at us? This little emo bastard needs to be taught a lesson, guys. " said Azimo. The three football players started throwing punches at him. Finn decided to finally fight back. He elbowed Azimio in the stomach, kneed Karofsky, and punched the other guy in the jaw, before running off. He reached his house 15 minutes later, with his eye throbbing. He walks in and locks the door after. He went to go look in the mirror and saw a purple ring starting to appear around his left eye.

"Shit!" He yelled. He went to the freezer and got an ice pack. He went up to his room, fell onto his bed and rested the ice pack on his injured eye, eventually falling asleep.

_~With Rachel._

Rachel Berry walked into her house, with her father closely behind her.

"Mom!" She yelled. "We're home!". Soon enough, a woman that closely resembled Rachel came to hug her daughter.

"How was your day?" She asked her.

"Mine was great, mom! I'm so excited for the trip! _And _I got another A+!" Rachel yelled, flashing her math test. Her mother grabbed it and smiled, before engulfing her in another hug.

"That's wonderful, honey!" She said, releasing her daughter. She turned to her husband as Rachel ran up the stairs to her room, to put her stuff away.

"How was _your_ day?" She asked him.

"It was great, Shelby. The kids are pretty excited about the trip!" He said, giving her a little peck on the lips.

"That's great, Will! It's good that you suggested it to Figgins, you know how much Rachel loved going camping." Shelby said, undoing her husband's tie.

"Yeah. She's really excited, as she said earlier" He said chuckling. Rachel then came back.

"Oh, Rachel, I forgot to ask you in the car, are you sure you're okay with bunking with Finn?" Will Schuester asked his daughter. Rachel nodded.

"Yes, Daddy. Besides, the partners are permanent, _remember_?" Rachel said.

"It'll be fine, Will." Shelby told him.

"Yeah, Dad. He's probably the only guy I'd get partnered with that wouldn't try something." Rachel reminded him. Will groaned at the thought of some teenage _punk_ trying to pull something.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. It's just...you know our history with his family... Well actually, you don't know. That was a long time ago.." He said, as Rachel raised her eyebrow.

"What history?" She asked.

"Nevermind. Forget I said anything. Finn's a good kid, really. I just don't want a repeat of last time." He said, before walking away. Rachel turned to Shelby.

"What was he talking about, Mom?" She asked her mother. Shelby shook her head.

"Rachel, honey, it's probably best if I don't tell you. I'm sure your father will tell you one day." Shelby said, before going to resume cooking dinner. "Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes!" Her mother called, and Rachel decided she would watch T.V until then. She sprawled out on the couch, grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. She finally decided to watch Friends. Afterall, she was named after one of the characters. Before she knew it, she was called for dinner. She turned off the T.V and sat at the dinner table, where her parents were sitting. They ate in silence, with occasional small talk. It was unordinary for the Berry-Schuester family to be quiet at dinner. Rachel finished up and ran up to her room.

She took out a suitcase and started packing. She was thankful that she didn't have any homework for the week, so she could focus on picking out some clothes. She picked out a few nice outfits, and a few comfortable, sportsy outfits. She packed some deodorant and perfume. She also picked out a few pairs of pajamas, including her favorite ones, which were black with gold stars.

You see, gold stars were kind of her thing. They were a metaphor for her being a star, but she had never told anyone that. She just said she really liked gold stars, and they were gullible enough to believe her...Or they didn't really care. Rachel also packed a few shower things, her tooth brush and tooth paste, and her hairbrush, before finishing. When she finished, it was already 10 p.m. She figured she'd go to bed.

Rachel turned off the light, before climbing into bed. Her mind wandered to the trip, and she slightly smiled when she thought of spending 7 days in a cabin with Finn... You have to admit, the boy is cute. Rachel drifted off to a deep slumber, her mind stuck in the future.

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_Hope you guys liked it! Please review! _

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	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you guys for all the reviews/alerts/faves! Here's your second chapter! Please review! We already have the third chapter written up. And it is a very LOOOOOONGG one!_

_****__Disclaimer: We don't own Glee._

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Finn sat up on his bed groaning. It was 6 a.m. and today was the day he went camping with his classmates. However, before even brushing his teeth he pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels and took a long swig from it. Satisfied for the time being he placed it down by his bed and went to take a shower and grab the last bit of things he needed to take. Finn stepped out of the bathroom wearing a pair of baggy black plants, and a large red t-shirt.

He looked under his bed, and found the box he was looking for. It was labeled 'Mom's stuff' in messy handwriting. He opened it and searched for some foundation to cover up the purpled bruise that was tainting his reflection. He found what he was looking for, and gently put it on, covering his black eye, then returned the box to it's original place. He took another gulp from the bottle before ditching it in his room and heading downstairs.

Finn wandered into the kitchen trying to find some decent food to eat. After searching through all the cupboards he found his favorite cereal and dumped the contents of the box into a small bowl. He sat down and started shoving it all into his throat. While doing so, he couldn't help but feel lonely. He had been living with his abusive uncle, (who was out at the moment) since his parents had died. He hadn't felt any love towards him since the day his parents had left him in the care of his horrible uncle. Absentmindedly thinking about life, he had finished his bowl of cereal, glancing at the clock he decided to get start heading off.

When he stepped outside he took a deep breath and let it out. He pulled out a cigarette from his pack and lit it. He took a long drag from it and sighed. Life had been tough on him for the past while, but he was really looking forward to this camping trip. On his way to school he started to think of his partner what was her name again … Rachel right. He could care less about her and her cheerful cheerio crew. He tossed his cigarette bud to the ground and crushed it with his foot. He really didn't care about anyone. Just as he was about to cross the street to his school a car sped by barely missing him

"What the fuck!" he yelled clearly pissed. Quietly grumbling to himself, he made his way to the front doors of the school.

Everyone was already there by the time Finn arrived. He lazily made his way onto the bus and spotted Puck far at the back. As he was making his way towards him he heard the usual remarks made by his so called fellow "classmates" and as custom had it he showed them all the finger.

"Yo man," Puck said as Finn plopped down beside him.

Finn nodded in his direction, and made himself comfortable. Puck shoved his headphones into his ears, letting the world of music engulf him. Finn took this opportunity to try and get some sleep. A person can ever have too much sleep. Just as he was about to doze off, he heard a squeaky voice call out his name. Sitting up a look of confusion crossed his face as he scanned the bus looking for whoever had called his name. His eyes landed upon Rachel Berry. She was waving at it looking as if she were about to explode any minute. Inwardly sighing, he forced a strained smile in her direction, all the while thinking that she looked like one of those bobble heads you get from McDonald's Happy Meals. Sitting back down he tried yet again to get some shut eye.

_With Rachel ~_

Sitting down in her seat, Rachel had a frown playing on her face. She was a bit confused about Finn. She was expecting more of a reaction from him, other then just that smile which made him look as if he was constipated. She turned her head to the side and caught sight of Quinn, who appeared to be off in her own little world.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Rachel as she gently nudged Quinn back to reality. Quinn blinked a few times and turned her head in Rachel's direction.

"Yeah I guess so …" was her reply. Rachel looked at her friend knowingly. She knew something was up.

"I've known you since forever Quinn, I know when something is bothering you, just like I know something is bothering you right now so spill."

Quinn took a deep breath, "Well, it's Puck. I don't want to be partners with him! I don't know anything about him, and to be honest he kind of freaks me out. I can't begin to imagine spending 7 fucking days with him in a cabin … _alone_ …at night." Her eyes became distant all of the sudden and she looked as if she was going to be sick.

"Oh Quinn, you have to stop freaking out. I'm sure he won't be that bad. You'll be fine! Don't let this ruin your trip … and mine too!" said Rachel.

"I guess you're right" said Quinn sighing, and Rachel gave her a 'since when am I ever _not_ right' look. Quinn rolled her eyes and turned away trying to persuade herself that everything would be alright, and Rachel turned to stare out the window.

The rest of the bus ride went by the same, people slipping in and out of their slumber, and in one kids case being sick to the stomach every ten minutes. Rachel woke up just in time to see their camping grounds come into view.

"We're here! We're here!" She squealed and a few students shot her death glares for waking them up from their peaceful sleep.

Everyone hopped off the bus and huddled around Mr. Schuester.

"Okay class, first, we will assign yours and your partner's cabins. You can make yourselves at home. It's getting pretty late, and the sun is going to go down in about an hour or so. So you can all just call it a night, if you want. I will hand out maps of the camp site to each person. If you're hungry, you can go to the cafeteria and get a snack. Tomorrow, we will be waking you up at 8 a.m to start the days activities."

As Mr. Schuester was busy calling names and assigning cabins Finn took this opportunity to take in the place. It was nice and he loved the smell of the outdoors. Slightly smiling to himself he lifted his head up and inhaled slowly closing his eyes, and feeling the sun's fading warm rays on his face. He was already starting to feel at home. Camping made him feel as if he belonged, and he really enjoyed it just being outdoors was enough for him.

"Finn! Finn!" called that squeaky voice again. Finn groaned a little and opened his eyes to find Rachel walking towards him.

"Hey!" she beamed. "We're in cabin number 7, come on, follow me."

Finn had no other choice but to follow her so sighing again, he started lugging his bags towards the direction Rachel was walking in.

"Puck! What the fuck!" yelled Quinn in total frustration. It had been fifteen minutes since they had arrived to cabin number 6 and Puck had already started chucking his clothes here and there.

"What? Mr. Schuester told us to make ourselves at home, so that's what I'm doing." Was Puck's witty reply.

Quinn groaned and started to make her bed and carefully lay out all her clothes. She couldn't wait to get out of there. Oh dear lord, how was she supposed to survive a whole fucking seven days!

"I am going to die." She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" asked Puck.

"Oh, nothing." She replied sweetly and turned around rolling her eyes.

Puck gave her a strange look, but nonetheless continued to throw things here and there.

Rachel hurried into her cabin, followed closely by Finn. She squealed when she saw it. The whole

room was made out of wood, except for the floor. It was homey, relaxing; but most of all, majestic. Finn smiled when he entered. It looked very similar to the place his parents and aunt and uncle used to take him too. Before they all died, except for his uncle, who started drinking and abusing Finn. Finn shuddered at the memory, which Rachel seemed to notice.

"Are you alright, Finn?" She asked sweetly. She seemed really concerned, it was almost heartwarming, but Finn felt as if he didn't have a heart since that day. Finn just shrugged his shoulders and mustered a forced smile. Rachel's face fell.

"Listen, Finn. I understand that you probably don't want to be bunked with me, but you are. You might as well make the most of it and actually _talk _to me! Even if it's to tell me to shut up! Just _talk!_" Rachel exclaimed. There was a few moments of silence between them, in which Rachel was staring at the ground, embarrassed of her previous outburst. Just as she was about to apologize, she was cut off.

"Which one ya want?" Finn finally spoke. Rachel's eyes widened.

"What?" She asked, not sure as to what he was talking about.

"Which bed?" He asked. Her mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Whichever one you don't." She replied shrugging her shoulders. To be honest, she didn't really care. Finn walked over to the bed closest to the door, and placed his duffel bag down on it.

"Alright, I guess I get this one then." Rachel said, walking over to the opposite one and placed her suitcase on it. There were two small dressers next to each bed, and the two put their belongings in it. Soon they were finished, and the sun had disappeared from view, from what they had seen through the window. Rachel collapsed on her bed, exhausted from the traveling, and not sleeping on the bus.

"You going to sleep?" Finn asked her, shining a flashlight near her. Rachel was still in shock that he even _talked_ to her. He _never_ talked.

"Yeah, I'm kinda tired." Rachel replied yawning. Finn nodded then started to head for the door before turning around.

"I'm going to get a snack. You want anything?" He asked. This brought Rachel into even more shock.

Now he was _offering_ to get her something?

"Um, sure. If there's an apple or some other fruit, that'd be nice." She replied softly. Finn nodded, thought Rachel couldn't see it.

"'Kay." He said before turning around and gripping the doorknob.

"Finn!" Rachel exclaimed. He turned around to face her.

"Yeah?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Thank you." Rachel said. Finn felt the corners of his mouth move upwards slightly. That was the closest thing to a genuine smile had shown since his parent's had died. Finn found the kitchen, and found a few other students there, eating. He saw Karofsky and Azimio, and not wanting to get in a fight, he ignored them and searched for food. He found a few granola bars, a couple of sodas, and before he left, he grabbed an apple and peach for Rachel. He swiftly made his way back to the cabin. He gently opened the cabin, trying not to awaken his roommate, incase she was sleeping.

"Rachel?" He whispered.

"Finn." She mumbled. "You're back already?" She asked.

"Here" He said, handing her the apple and peach.

"Thanks." She replied. Finn opened a granola bar and shoved some into his mouth.

"You want a soda" He asked her. She shook her head.

" No thanks. I shouldn't have sugar this late, or I won't be able to get to sleep, and I really don't want to keep you up half the night" Rachel explained. "Thank you for the offer, though"

"No prob. Night" Finn said, before climbing into bed and leaving the rest of the food and drinks on top of the dresser, for later. They both drifted off into a soft slumber.

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_Well, we hope you guys like that! Please let us know in a review :D _

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	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for reading/reviewing/faving/alerting! It really means a lot that you enjoy our stories. We absolutely LOVE reading your reviews! :) This is our longest chapter yet! Hope you enjoy it!_

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

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Rachel and Finn were both abruptly awaken by repeated knocking on the door, just as they were the day before. Finn groaned and covered his head with the pillow. Rachel stood up and went to open the door. There before her stood her father.

"Hey Daddy." she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Rachel." Mr. Schuester said smiling. He then turned to see Finn still in bed.

"Good morning, Finn. It's time to get up!" He said before walking out. "We meet in the cafeteria in an hour!" He said over his shoulder. Finn groaned and slowly got out of bed and stretched. He rummaged through the dresser and picked out some clothes and a towel, along with bathing necessities.

"Goin'a take a shower" Finn threw at Rachel before walking to the bathroom. Rachel smiled and shook her head. He may be an inconsiderate boy, but atleast she broke him down into talking to her. Rachel decided it would be a good time to chose her outfit for the day. Although she didn't know what the activities were, it could never hurt to be prepared for something sportsy. For example, yesterday they all spent the day at the lake. So, she decided to wear a pink tank top and black running shorts. She sat on her bed, waiting for Finn to come out so she could also take a shower. Her mind wandered to the endless possibilities of activities they were going to do today.

About 10 minutes later, Finn opened the door and walked out. He was dressed in a black band T-shirt and navy blue shorts. Rachel immediately ran for the door, and shut it behind her. Finn smiles and shakes his head in laughter and water droplets sprayed everywhere. He didn't know why, but he was slightly warming up to Rachel and her slight annoying bubbly ways, and even her squeaky eager voice. Grabbing his hat he left the cabin to go and find Puck.

_With Rachel ~_

Rachel walked out of the bathroom 20 minutes later to find Finn gone. She towel dried her hair and put it up into a high pony tail. She then took to her face, and put on her usual eyeliner and mascara. Taking one last look at herself in the mirror she left the cabin only to come face to face with Quinn.

"Ouch" Rachel groaned rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry" said Quinn also rubbing hers. She gave Rachel an apologizing look which quickly turned into a look of anger.

"I am going to go insane soon I swear!" she yelled. Rachel gave her friend a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?"

"PUCK that's what." She said his name as if he were the reason for everything bad in the world. "He's so fucking annoying!"

"I'm pretty sure he isn't that bad." Said Rachel as she started walking towards where they were all supposed to meet up.

"Yeah, that's because you don't have to practically live with him for seven days." mumbled Quinn just as they approached the rest of the class.

"Good morning class!" said an over excited Mr. Schuester. "Today, we will be going on a scavenger hunt!" Murmurs of excitement were heard throughout the group. "You will be with your assigned partners, and the lists of items you are to find will be given out to you. However first, we must all eat breakfast. Everyone follow me to the cafeteria."

When everyone was done eating, they all parted ways with their fellow partners. Each of the pairs were given cameras to take pictures of the things they were to find. Rachel was scanning the page to see what they were to find, while Finn was busy staring off into the distance.

"So, it says that we have to find poison ivy, animal tracks, a feather, a bird, a leaf, a bunny, a frog, a dead decaying tree, a giant rock, the lake and a mushroom." Rachel said looking up at Finn.

Finn only nodded and started walking off ahead of Rachel. Sighing Rachel started to follow him. '_He's so confusing!'_ She thought staring at his back. '_I wonder what he's thinking, he always seems so distant and out of it'. _Suddenly Finn turned around and gave Rachel a weird look because she hadn't noticed and just kept staring at him.

"Umm … you okay?" He asked.

Blinking Rachel came back to her senses. "Uh y-yeah." She said a blush starting to form in her cheeks. Finn shrugged and looked away a little unsure with her answer. Rachel let out a deep breath. '_Man, that was close! He almost caught me staring at him._' She thought. Shaking her head she ran up to walk side by side with him.

"So, where do you want to start?" She asked him.

"Wherever" He replied shrugging.

I sighed inwardly; this was going to be a long day.

_With Quinn ~_

"Oh my god, WHERE DID YOU GO NOW?" yelled an very frustrated Quinn. Since they had started their scavenger hunt, Puck had been no help whatsoever. All he did was run off to god knows where then show up a while later jumping out of bushes and scaring Quinn shitless.

"I'm right here." Said Puck as he lazily walked up to her from behind.

Quinn turned around, "Where did you go now?" she almost screamed.

Puck just shrugged and gave her a 'Don't worry about it' look.

"Whatever," Quinn muttered and turned around and continued trying to find a bird's feather. Who came up with this list of items? It's ridiculous! Since they had started all Quinn had been doing was falling down. First she had fell and scraped her knee on a twig that was lying on the ground. Then, she had somehow managed to lose one of her most favorite rings, and to top it all off, she was stuck with Puck for the rest of the day.' _I think god hates me.'_ She thought to herself, just as she tripped again and fell face first into a pile of mud. '_Yup, god hates me. '_

_With Finn ~_

"I got it!" exclaimed Rachel, causing Finn to glance in her direction.

Finn despite himself was actually having a good time with Rachel. Every time she found something she would always smile and her face would brighten up, and seeing this Finn couldn't help but smile a bit. '_Hanging out with her is going to change you man.'_ Finn thought to himself. _'You can't get attached Finn.'_ .

Finn then scurried past her saying "Let's go" in a harsh tone. Rachel frowned at him, though he couldn't see it because his back was turned and he was walking away.

"Just as I thought we were making progress." Rachel whispered to herself, sighing, then hurried to catch up with Finn. They wandered around and found themselves infront of a sign that read _'Warning: You are now leaving the tourist camping grounds. Beware of bears.' _that was hanging on a fenced area. Rachel started to get scared when she read 'bears'.

"Finn, we should head in the other direction..." Rachel said. Finn shook his head.

"Don't be a wimp." He said harshly. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm not being a wimp! The sign says there are _bears_ here, Finn. _Bears!_" She exclaimed sternly.

"That's a load of bullshit. And besides, Finn Hudson ain't afraid of no bears. I've experienced way worse things than any bear could do." Finn said darkly. Rachel looked at him with worry in her eyes. She placed her hand on his forearm.

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, concern filling her voice.

"Nothing. It's nothing." He muttered. "Let's go" Finn said. Rachel shook her head.

"Finn, I am _not _going in there!" She exclaimed. Finn looked at her intensely for a minute before turning around and started walking towards the fenced forest.

"Fine. See you later." He said over his shoulder, not turning to look at her. Rachel stood in shock, until she heard a bird caw. She ran after him.

"Finn! Wait up!" She yelled. Finn turned around, waiting for her. Once Rachel reached him, they climbed over the fence.

"Finn, I don't feel good about this…" Rachel said with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Would ya quit acting like such a baby and suck it up! Bitches these days. "

That got to Rachel. "I am NOT a bitch." She yelled her anger flaring.

"Whatever," Finn said with a roll of his eyes, and started walking faster into the forest.

Rachel let out a frustrated sigh and started chasing after Finn so that she wouldn't be left alone in the forest.

They walked for a half hour in complete silence. It was starting to get late, and Rachel was starting to get scared. Everywhere she looked seemed exactly the same as the last place they were. She glanced at Finn, but he seemed to be lost in thought, and didn't seem to care at all that it was late and that they were most likely lost. After a few more minutes of silence, Rachel couldn't take it anymore and decided to ask him where they were.

"So where exactly are we?" asked Rachel figuring that he should know since he was the one that insisted they come this way.

Finn shrugged and gave her a look that said 'how am I supposed to know?' That got to Rachel.

"So you're telling me that we are LOST?" Rachel all but screamed in his face.

Finn just glanced in her direction, and spotted a log. He brushed past her and went to sit down on it spreading his legs out. Rachel couldn't believe it. _The __**nerve**__ of him! _She thought as she watched his yawn and lean backwards a bit closing his eyes in the process.

"You are a fucking idiot!" she screamed in his face. Finn opened his eyes and came face to face with Rachel. He had to move back a little from her face because the look on her face was made completely of venom. Finn didn't say anything except for stare at her, his face expressionless.

"What is wrong with you? I told you NOT to go this way! Did you listen? NO! And now look where we are! LOST! Who knows when we'll get out of here!" Her face was full of fury and she kept on going until she was completely out of breath. She was panting, and her face was red as she stood there glaring at Finn.

"You done?" Finn asked in a completely calm voice. When he got no response he leaned back and got comfortable again.

Rachel, having used up all of her energy, gave out a huff of air and sat down next to him on the log. They sat there in silence, just breathing in the cool air, completely ignoring each other.

"So everyone is back except for Finn and Rachel?" said Mr. Schuster. Everyone murmured in agreement.

"Alright, I'll get a search party ready to go looking for them, everyone else can go back to their cabins and try to get some sleep." declared Mr. Schuster in a tired voice.

"I really hope Rachel's alright" whispered Quinn, but Puck had heard it.

"Relax, I'm sure they're fine. Knowing Finn he probably got them lost on purpose." said Puck in a bored voice, then started walking off towards their cabin.

Quinn stared after him. _How can he be so calm about this?_ She thought. Somehow what he had told her didn't make her feel any better about her friend. I really hope Rachel is alright she thought to herself, and started making her way towards her cabin.

It had been 2 hours since they had stopped and sat down, and Rachel was growing anxious with every moment that passed. She looked to her left at Finn who appeared to be asleep. Her eyes narrowed. _Stupid idiot._ She thought. Why was I partnered with _him_ of all people? WHY? What had I done that was so bad that I had to be punished like this? She heard a groan and turned to see Finn move in his sleep.

"Idiot" she mumbled.

"And why am I an idiot?" he asked as he opened on eye to look at her.

"Y-you're a-awake?" Rachel asked taken aback.

"Yes, now why am I and idiot?" he asked again.

Rachel's anger flared, after everything that had happened he was asking her WHY he was an idiot!

"What do you mean _why_?" she asked glaring at him. "I'm sorry, but have you forgotten why we are here right now? Let me refresh your memory, it's because of YOU!" she screamed and jabbed a finger into his chest. "YOU'RE the reason why we're lost, and you have the nerve to ask me why you're an idiot, acting as though nothing has happened!" She was shaking with anger. She couldn't even sand to look at him without having the urge to smack him across the face.

"Okay whoa, slow down there." Finn said. "It's your fault you're even here. Did I ask you to come with me? No. You chose to tag along with me and then you blame me? It was your choice, so I don't know why you're putting this all on me." He said with a bit of annoyance.

Rachel looked at him in disbelief. "Of course I was going to follow you! You didn't think I was going to let you come here alone did you?" she asked some of her anger die down. "Now, I think that what I did may have been a huge mistake. Following you here." said Rachel her anger slightly starting up again.

"Like I said, I didn't ask you to come with me. Stop bitching, you should be blaming yourself not me." said Finn turning over to his other side so he wasn't facing Rachel anymore.

"You make sick." Rachel said, every word dripping with acid, crossing her arms in anger and turning her back on him.

Yet again they sat, in total silence looking anywhere but at each other.

"Hey! I found something!" called one of the park rangers.

Everyone ran towards him where he was pointing at the ground showing them footprints. The followed them and were led to the fence that held a sign that read "No Trespassing" They climbed over the fence and started walking deeper and deeper into the forest determined to find the two lost teenagers.

It was getting late. Rachel was starting to panic. She was pacing back and forth trying to calm her nerves. The night sky was pitch black, and she didn't know if anyone would be able to find them out there in the forbidden part of the forest. Finn had woken up a while back, and was now sitting on the ground staring off into space. Neither had spoken a word to each other since their little argument a while back.

"Would ya quit pacing? It's annoying." said Finn.

"Would you stop breathing?" Rachel shot back still clearly angry about before.

Finn raised his eyebrows, and decided not to respond back. He wasn't in the mood to fight with her. '_This girl is really something'._ thought Finn.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" came a voice through the darkness.

Rachel immediately whirled around towards where the voice came from and yelled, "YES! OVER HERE!"

Mr. Schuster appeared in the darkness and was accompanied by three others.

"DADDY!" Rachel exclaimed and ran towards him.

"Rachel, what are you doing out here? This part of the forest is forbidden! Or did you so happen to miss the huge sign on the fence?" he said with anger and annoyance in his voice.

"Sorry sir," said Finn as he came up behind Rachel. "But it was all-"

"My fault!" said Rachel, and Finn's eyes widened.

"I'm disappointed in you Rachel," said Mr. Schuster with a disapproving look. "Let's head back to camp and then we will discuss your punishment." He said turning around.

Rachel started to follow him. _What had come over me? _She thought. _I just felt that I should defend him, even thought it was his fault we were stuck out here for so long._ She inwardly rolled her eyes at that. Soon, they were back at the campsite, and Mr. Schuester had brought them back into the cabin, to discuss Rachel's punishment. Rachel immediately took a seat on her bed, looking ashamed. Good thing she was a good actress.

"Rachel. What on earth possessed you to break the rules? You're usually such a good kid..." said her father, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Daddy..." Rachel said pouting and using her puppy dog eyes. Mr. Schuester's face temporarily softened, before turning back into a look of anger.

"Rachel. You're puppy dog face won't do you any good. I have to punish you just as I would any other student who broke the rules." He said sternly. "I'm afraid you'll have to spend the day in your cabin, while everyone else is out having fun" Rachel's mouth fell wide open, as she tried to object, her father interjected.

"No buts, Rachel. You broke the rules, so you must take the punishment. Goodnight." Mr. Schuester said before turning to Finn.

"Goodnight, Finn" He said, walking out of the door. Finn looked at Rachel, who was staring at the ground, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. She looked so sad. Finn quickly ran out after Mr. Schuester.

"Mr. Schue!" Finn called, and the teacher turned around.

"Finn...What are you doing? You should be in your cabin." He told the teenager.

"I know, Mr. Schuester. But you should punish me too." Finn told him. Mr. Schuester gave him a look of confusion. "I deserve the same punishment as Rachel. I trespassed too, it's not like she went alone." Finn explained, trying not to tell the truth, which would land them both in even more trouble. Mr. Schuester smiled at him.

"You're a good kid, Finn. Most kids wouldn't do that." Mr. Schuester said. "Alright, you and Rachel will both be on Cabin arrest. There will be a Park Ranger in the area, and they will bring you your meals. See you on Friday, Finn." William Schuester said before turning around and walking away. Finn somewhat smiled, and headed back to the cabin. Rachel sat there, and looked up, confused when he returned.

"Where were you?" Rachel asked. Finn locked the door and went to lay down on his bed.

"Doesn't matter. Go to sleep." Finn said, turning his back to her.

"Fine, don't tell me where you went. Not like I give a damn." She huffed. Finn sighed and turned around.

"I went to go talk to your father." Finn explained. Rachel shot him a confused glance.

"What'd you say?" She asked worriedly. When Finn didn't answer, she asked again, in a louder voice. "Finn! What did you _say_?" Finn, again, sighed.

"Let's just say you're not on Cabin arrest alone." He said. Rachel's face softened.

"What?" She asked softly.

"Don't make me say it again" Finn said, laying on his back, with his arms spread out. They both layed in silence for what seemed like a half hour.

"Why did you cover for me?" Finn asked, hoarsely.

"What" Rachel whispered back.

"Why did you take the blame for me. You know I was the one that broke the rules, not you. Why did you say it was you? Why?" Finn asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Like you said, you've been through way worse things. Even though I don't know what they are, you didn't deserve the punishment too." Rachel explained. Finn inwardly smiled, and relaxed, letting his body be overwhelmed with sleep, after whispering "Thanks". Rachel grinned when he thanked her, and snuggled up in her blanket, her too, being taken over by sleep.

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_Hope you guys liked that! Please, please, PLEASE review! It really makes our day :) The next chapter will be up on Sunday :) And it is a VERY good one! _

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	4. Chapter 4

_Well, here's the next chapter! Thanks everyone, so much for reading this story! Personally, this is our favourite so far!_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.**_

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It was the day after Finn and Rachel were on Cabin arrest. Finn spent most of the day eating or sleeping, while Rachel read a few book that she packed. She was a very quick reader. Right now, the class was gathered in the cafeteria, at 1 p.m, waiting for Mr. Schuester to discuss todays activities. Once Mr. Schue arrived, the room became silent as he talked.

"Today, we're going on hike" He started. "You'll be in your cabin pairs, just like all the other activities. At the end of the hike, there will be a surprise. Now everyone get with your partners, we're leaving!" Mr. Schuester explained, and everyone obliged. They all marched behind Mr. Schuester in their pairs, they went out the door and started walking up their trail.

Finn and Rachel were still not on the best of terms; Rachel became irritated with him yesterday for sleeping all day and ignoring her. She shouldn't even care, she's head cheerleader, for crying out loud! She had multiple guys after her, a perfect 4.0 GPA, her life was pretty much perfect! But here she was, getting annoyed when this _one _little delinquent wouldn't speak to her! Rachel huffed and stared ahead, ignoring every look sent her way. Finn turned to look at her in question, before shrugging it off and continued on their journey.

Finn ignored the glares that he received. He already knew most guys were jealous that he was partnered with Rachel. But not only that, they just plain hated him. He didn't really have any friends, besides Puck. He couldn't open up to anyone, he didn't trust. Finn knew the consequences of getting people involved in his life, he didn't want to bring them into that kind of horror. He didn't want their safety on his conscience, he already had to fear for his.

_~With Puck and Quinn~_

Quinn didn't think it was possible, but Puck was getting on her nerves more and more. The whole 5 days they had been at the camp, he was hitting on her, which completely disgusted her. It was repulsive. _And then_, when he striked out, he would go and hit on Santana, Brittany and any _other _walking thing with a chest and legs. Guys like that didn't deserve even a minute of her day. Yet she was spending 7 _days_ with the beast. Alright, maybe it did seem like Quinn was on a high horse, but her parents always told her to respect herself, and to never settle for anything. That Quinn deserved _only _the _best_. And Noah Puckerman was definitely _not _the best.

Puck, however, had an entirely different point of view. He was enchanted by Quinn, though he'd never admit it to anyone, he was already unpopular and got beat up enough, he didn't want to get more beatings for sounding like a pansy. It was true, he had a crush on _the _Quinn Fabray, second most popular girl in McKinley High. But she didn't even give him a second glance, unless it was filled with disgust. He knew that he did some pretty unorthodox things, but he wasn't a bad guy. The only reason he hit on those other girls was, well, because it actually _hurt _when she rejected him. And those girls were _so _easy. They'd do just about anyone. They pretty much _have_ done just about everyone. Puck wouldn't quit on Quinn, though. Oh no, he knew she would eventually come around. Puck goes for what he wants. And what he wants is Quinn Fabray.

"Hey" Puck whispered to her. Quinn turned to look at him, squinting her eyes.

"What?" She snapped at him. Puck held up his hands in defense.

"_Damn_, Miss Hormone. No need to get all snippy. I just wanted to know if you wanted to ditch the 'surprise' later and go do the nasty in our cabin?" Puck said smirking.

"You're disgusting" She scoffed.

"You know you love it, babe!" Quinn gave him the dirtiest look.

"Ugh! In your _dreams!_" She said.

"Every night." Puck winked. Quinn felt like she was going to gag any minute. She let out a frustrated scream, which had almost everyone turn and look at her. She blushed and shooed them.

"Carry on, carry on! Nothing to see here!" She said, motioning for them to turn around. She leaned over to Puck.

"This is _all your _fault!" Quinn hissed in his ear. Puck just smirked.

"It might make you feel better if you show me your bra" He whispered back. Quinn gave him a look of complete horror and disgust. It only got worse when she felt something on her backside. A hand. Moreover, _Puck's _hand. That's when she raised her hand and brought it to his cheek. That's right. She _slapped _him. She slapped him _hard. _

"You're a _pig_!" She screamed at him. " Why can't you _get_ the _hint_ that I _don't _want to even be _near _you! You aggravate me. You keep hitting on me, and pretty much _every_ other girl, and it's completely _repulsive_! You, Puckerman, completely _disgust _me!" Quinn yelled, slightly panting when she was done her rant. With one last death glare, she stormed off ahead. Puck held his hand to his cheek.

"She _totally_ wants me" He said dreamily before running to catch up with her.

_~With Rachel and Finn~_

Rachel occasionally looked around her, and noticed multiple guys staring at her, and glaring at Finn. She furrowed her eyebrows at this. She didn't think anything of being partnered up with Finn, at this point. She was still kind of angry with him for ignoring her, but she was used to the attention. So _of course, _she would resent him for that. She noticed Dave Karofsky walk up to the two and put his arm around Finn.

"Hey, Hudson, remember what we talked about the other day?" He sneered. Finn glared at him. Karofsky looked over to Rachel.

"Well, _hello_ there Rachel." He said winking at her. She scoffed in disgust. This angered Karofsky. He leaned closer to Finn.

"I blame you. It's your fault" He said. Finn had no idea what he was talking about, but he noticed that Karofsky swung his leg, trying to trip Finn. He quickly moved out of the way. Unfortunately, Rachel wasn't so lucky to see it, and move out of the way. Rachel tripped over it, and let out a blood curling scream when she hit the ground. The students all stop and stared at her. There was blood dripping from her forearm. It appears something had cut her. Mr. Schuester quickly rushed to her aid. He examined it and sighed in frustration.

"Ugh. We don't have a first aid kit with us..." He exclaimed. Finn knelt down next to him.

"Mr. Schue..." Finn started, getting his teacher's attention. " I always carry around stuff for this kind of thing. It's back in our cabin though..." He said. Mr. Schuester nodded.

"Alright. Finn, would you take Rachel and bandage her up?" He asked. Finn nodded.

"Sure Mr. Schue. You guys go on. We'll probably just stay there." Finn said.

"Thanks Finn." He said, patting his shoulder. "Come on, guys! Let's carry on!" Mr. Schuester motioned them to keep hiking. Finn saw the wound bleeding, a lot. So he thought on his feet for a way to stop the bleeding. He looked down at his shirt, and ripped off the left sleeve.

"Come a little closer" He said, softly, motioning for her to go over to him. She scouted on the mulch and winced. Finn wrapped the sleeve around the injury tightly. He stood up and offered his hand to her, and she graciously took it. They started making their way to their cabin. Finn kept his hold on the covered wound, to keep pressure on it.

When they got to the cabin, Finn pulled out a small bag and brought Rachel to the bathroom, sitting her down on the counter next to the sink. He untied the sleeve, and threw it out. He ran a small stream of cold water, and put her arm under it. Rachel winced and let out a little yelp.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt much longer." Finn said. He turned off the tap, and dried off her arm. He took out some rubbing alcohol so she wouldn't get an infection. He dabbed it on a cotton ball.

"Now this is gonna hurt. Squeeze my hand until the pain's gone" He said softly, offering his hand and Rachel immediately took it, shutting her eyes, preparing herself for the pain. When he connected it to the wound, Rachel let out a hiss and squeezed Finn's hand. He threw out the cotton ball and applied some neosporin before wrapping a bandage around the large gash. He secured the bandage, and wiped his forehead and eyes with a towel. Rachel looked down at the bandage.

"Thank you." She whispered, before lifting her head and looking at him. Rachel gasped at what she saw.

"What happened to your eye, Finn!" She asked concerned. Finn turned his face and muttered "Crap" under his breath. Rachel took the towel out of his hands, cupping his chin and wiped away the remaining foundation, before asking him again.

"Finn, what happened?" Rachel asked, her voice and facial features growing soft.

"It's nothing." Finn said, before walking out of the bathroom and into the main room in the cabin. He sat down on his bed, with Rachel following immediately after him. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"_Finn_. Tell me what happened!" She said sternly. Finn shook his head. Rachel sighed. She really wanted to know what happened to him. He couldn't have just fallen. Someone had to do this to him. Rachel sat down next to him, placing her hands on his forearm, before looking up at him.

"Finn.." She started. "_Please, _tell me what happened" Rachel whispered softly. Finn sighed. He knew she wouldn't stop until he told her, so he figured he'd get it over with.

"I kind of got in a fight" Finn said. Rachel nodded.

"Yeah, I can see that. Come back into the bathroom, I want a better look." Rachel said, standing up, dragging him into the bathroom. She put the lid on the toilet seat down, and sat him on top of it. She examined his bruised eye and hissed softly.

"Who gave this to you?" She asked, lightly touching it, but quickly pulled away when he winced. Finn shrugged. Rachel gave him an 'I don't believe this' look. He sighed.

"Karofsky, Azimio and some other football douche" He said and Rachel shook her head.

"What's wrong with them? First Karofsky trips me, now he gives you a black eye?" She said with disgust in her voice.

"Actually, he was trying to trip _me_. But I moved out of the way. It's kind of my fault you're hurt." Finn said, then looked directly into her eyes. "I'm sorry" He said.

"It's not your fault, Finn" Rachel said sincerely.

"But if I didn't-" Finn started but was interjected by Rachel's finger, which was now pressed against his lips, shushing him.

"It's not your fault" She said sternly, removing her finger. "Now why would he be beating on you?" She asked.

"He was jealous that I got partnered with you" Finn said softly. Rachel's eyes widened. She knew guys weren't so pleasant with each other, but she never knew they would take it _this _far.

"He's stupid" Rachel said. Finn nodded.

"Tell me about it." He said. Rachel took out a small towel, and ran it under freezing cold water. She brought it to his face and held it against his eye. "Hold it there for a second, I need to get something" Rachel said before running into the main room and running back shortly after. She took off the towel and wiped his eye dry before applying foundation on his eye. Satisfied with her work, she smiled.

"There. Looks like nothing ever happened" She said, when her eye caught something.

"Finn... take off your shirt." She demanded. Finn raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Just do it" She insisted. Finn shrugged and took off his shirt. Rachel gasped.

"Finn, What _happened_?" Rachel almost shouted. Finn looked down and mentally kicked himself when he saw that he forgot about all the scars.

"Nothing. Nothing happened." Finn said, trying to get up, only to be pushed right back down.

"Finn Hudson, you tell me what's going on right this instant!" Rachel demanded. Finn squinted his eyes at her.

"_Nothing, _Rachel. Why don't you just go sit down. Today's events must've worn you out." Finn said, trying to get up, but once again, was pushed back down. But this time, Rachel was sitting on top of him. She ran her fingers over some of the more recent cuts and bruises. Finn stood there, still as a rock, trying to process what was happening.

"Finn..." Rachel said. He gulped as he responded with a "Yeah?".

"Tell me what happened." Rachel pleaded, looking him in the eyes with a puppy dog look on her face.

"I can't" He said firmly. He lifted her off of him, getting up, and placed her on the spot he previously occupied, before walking out of the bathroom. Rachel huffed before getting up and following him. Rachel walked in to see him putting on a shirt. She walked up to him, poking her finger at chest. She kept walking until she backed him up against the wall.

"You need to tell me what happened. Did Karofsky do this? Azimio? _Who_?" She sternly said, staring him down. Finn had to admit, she was good at this. If he ever worked for the police, and needed to interrogate someone, he'd definitely get Rachel to do it.

Finn dropped his gaze to the floor and didn't say anything. No way in hell was he going to tell her of all people what had happened to him. Rachel however, seemed to have a different idea about the situation. She was determined to find out what had happened, and would not rest until she found out.

"Finn, come on tell me. You can trust me Finn, I won't tell anyone whatever it was that happened. I promise." said Rachel looking at him with eyes full of pure honesty.

Finn let out a frustrated groan. "Just fucking drop it okay?" he said trying to keep his voice down. Man, this girl sure was determined. With that said he pushed her back, and walked out the door of their cabin.

_~ With Puck and Quinn ~_

Quinn's legs were starting to ache, so she decided to sit down for a while and stretch her legs out. Puck had disappeared to god knows where, and even though she would never admit it, she was actually starting to miss his annoyingness. Letting out a deep breath she decided to lay down and close her eyes for a while, trying to forget about everything. It didn't look like she would be getting much of that relaxation time because, she heard a noise, like someone was walking towards her, and then she felt something beside. Panicking a little, she bolted into an upright position and looked to her right only to find Puck sitting there staring at her.

"You okay?" Puck asked her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" replied back Quinn a bit confused.

"Well, for one thing, you kind of randomly lay down in the middle of our hike." said Puck.

"Oh, my legs were just a little tired, that's all." said Quinn with a small smile. _Wow, he's actually being somewhat decent. _She thought.

Puck looked away for a bit, and then turned back around. "You wanna start walking again?" he asked her.

"Yeah… sure." said Quinn a little confused, but at the same time liking this change in him.

Puck got up and stretched out his hand offering to help her up. Quinn gladly accepted giving him a smile, and stood up dusting herself off in the process.

"Are you sure you can continue on? Or would you rather head back to our cabin for some real excitement?" asked Puck with a sly smile.

Quinn's smile left her face almost instantly. "You. Are. Impossible!" she screeched as she stomped away leaving him smiling and staring at her back.

'_Ohhh yeah,'_ he thought with a perverted smile. _'I have got this in the bag.'_

_~ With Rachel ~_

Rachel rolled onto her side, not being able to fall asleep. She was still frustrated with herself, and the fact that she wasn't able to find out what had happened to Finn. _'He is one tough cookie.'_ She thought to herself. Speaking of which, shouldn't he be back by now? She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 11 o'clock. She immediately sat up in bed worry evident on her face. _'He should be back by now.'_ Not knowing what else to do, she grabbed her sweater and left the cabin to search for a certain boy whom she was clearly very fond of.

Rachel had been out for a while now, and there was still no sign of Finn anywhere. She was growing more and more worried as the seconds ticked by, and her search became frantic. She decided to go check by the lake hoping that he would be there. She jogged over to the lake to find Finn, along with Karofsky and Azimio. She wasn't that close up, but she could tell that they were not discussing the daily news, and when she saw Karofsky raise his fist in the air, her hunch was confirmed.

"HEY !" she yelled sprinting towards where they were standing. "What do you think you're doing?" she yelled going to stand in between Finn and the two boys.

"Rachel, move." said Finn a monotone voice.

Rachel turned to look at his face, but it seemed distant and unreadable.

"No." she said turning back. "I'm sorry to break this up, but you're going to have to leave." she said with a strong voice.

"Rachel sweetie," said Azimio. "You don't want to stick up for that piece of shit. Now if you move we can make this fast, and you can come back to camp with us." he said with a suggestive smile.

"What the fuck?" said Rachel in a low and dangerous voice. "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do? Now, if you know what's best for you, I'd suggest you leave. Now. You have no idea what I can do to you." she said her anger starting to build up.

"Oh really now?" said Karofsky in an amused tone. "And what may that be?"

"Rachel, just _leave_! You're gonna get hurt!" Finn said, placing his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head around and glared at him. Finn's faced stayed expressionless. Rachel pushed his hand off of her shoulder.

"Yeah, Rachel. Listen to the loser. Just go, and you'll end up fine." Azimio said with a devious smile. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. Did they expect her to just _leave_ Finn?

"No. You two are going to leave. Right. Now." She growled. "I can have you two thrown to the bottom of the social latter in 5 minutes. I can get you two arrested. There are so many things that I could to you, that wouldn't involve any physical work whatsoever. Just leave, and _maybe _I won't have you expelled" Rachel said furiously.

"Rachel, baby, you don't have to pretend to care about this piece of _shit _just because you're partnered with him." Karofsky said, stepping closer to Rachel and running his hand up and down her arm. She shot him a disgusted look and slapped him across the face. Hard. When she removed her hand, she saw that she left a red hand print on his cheek. "You shouldn't have done that, Princess" He said, about to lift his hand to hit her.

"_DAVID"_ Boomed a voice, causing all heads to turn. A figure appeared from the shadows. It was Mr. Schuester. He walked right up to them, and stared Karofsky and Azimio down. "You guys should be in your cabins. Now I don't know the original purpose of what this little meeting is, but so help me God, if you lay a hand on any student, I will have you expelled, and arrest" Mr. Schuester threatened. The two football players look completely terrified. They turned and started running back in the direction of the camp.

Mr. Schuester turned to Rachel and Finn. He sighed. "Are you guys alright? I mean, they didn't touch you, or anything, right?" He asked.

"No, Dad. But they were about to bea-" Rachel started, but was interrupted by Finn.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm fine, and Rachel wasn't hurt. That's the most important thing." Finn said. Rachel looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "I apologize for being out later Mr. Schue. And I apologize for Rachel getting into this mess. I'll go to the cabin now" Finn declared, heading into the camp direct. Rachel stood there for a minute, before running after him. Mr. Schuester just shook his head, muttering 'Crazy kids', before he headed back to the camp.

Finn walked into the cabin, closely followed by Rachel, who closed and locked the door. "Finn" Rachel said, trying to get his attention. Finn turned around and faced her. "What the hell was that? Why didn't you let me tell him?" She asked. Finn shook his head.

"Don't you see, Rachel? If you tell, they'll think _I_ told. And they'll come after me again, and it'll be even worse, 'cause I'll be a 'snitch'. " Finn explained. He slapped his hand to his forehead. "What if Mr. Schuester hadn't come, tonight, Rachel? Do you _know_ what they would've done to you?" He asked. Rachel shook her head.

"They could've beaten you," Finn started, Rachel interjected. "So?" She said, before Finn continued. "They could've _raped _you, Rachel!" Finn yelled. Rachel looked stunned for a moment. Finn's face fell. Just as he was about to apologize, he felt two arms around his waist, and a tiny brunette snuggled against him. He was confused, and stood there, before wrapping his arms around her, thinking _'What the hell. Not like he could know about this'_ .

"I'm sorry, Finn! I'm really sorry! I should've stopped pestering you! I'm so, so sorry!" Rachel cried. Finn's face softened.

"Shh, Rachel. It's alright, don't cry. It's not your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have walked out. I shouldn't have let you stay there, either" He whispered. Rachel looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"_Finn_, They could've _hurt_ you. How was I supposed to leave?" She asked, sniffling.

"Better me than you." Finn said. "What kind of ass hits a lady?" He said harshly, hate filling his voice. "Or even _tries _to!"

"I'm just glad you're okay." Rachel said, her grip on him tightening.

"I'm glad we _both _are." He said. "Now come on, let's get some sleep. It's been a long day." Finn said, releasing Rachel, before turning to his bed.

"Aren't you going to change?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. Finn looked at her and shook his head.

"Nah." He said, taking off his shirt, and pulling off his jeans. There before her stood Finn Hudson, dressed in only boxers. She couldn't help but blush. She quickly went to change into her pajamas. When she came back, she noticed Finn in his bed, with his eyes closed. She smiled, and before she went to her own bed, she whispered a soft 'Goodnight.'.

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_Did you like it? Please let us know in a review! :)_

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	5. Chapter 5

_Ahh! You guys are so amazing! Thank you for all the feedback! You all made us both very happy! Thank you so much! As for the suggestions, we already some of them planned, but it's later on, way, way later on!_

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It was the final night of their camping trip, and everyone was seated outside surrounding a nice warm bonfire. Rachel and Quinn were sitting across from Finn and Puck, and all the while, Rachel couldn't help but smile at Finn whenever he happened to look her way. '_He seems so sweet under that "tough" image he keeps up.' _thought Rachel. '_If only I could somehow break that down, and get to the actual Finn.' _She turned her head and glanced at Quinn who also was staring at Puck, but she was no where near smiling at him. No, it was more like she was panting from anger. _'Hmmm… I wonder what happened to her now.'_ thought Rachel.

'_'.Him.'_ thought Quinn as she was glaring at the boy who sat across from her. Thank god this was the last night that she had to spend with him in the same room. Puck however, not sensing that anything was wrong, kept on smiling at her, and mouthing some inappropriate things to her. Quinn was close to strangling someone. _'The nerve of that boy!'_ she thought. _'And to think he actually believes that he has a chance with me!" _However, despite all of this, Quinn couldn't help but think back to their hiking trip when he had been so sweet to her… almost normal. Normal. The word was like a foreign topic when it came to Puck. 'I just hope that that boy is somewhere in there.' Thought Quinn a little bothered.

"Alright campers! It's time to turn in. I expect everyone to be up bright and early tomorrow morning so we can start our long journey back home!" said Mr. Schuster interrupting both Rachel's and Quinn's mental tirades. _'Hopefully tomorrow will be better.'_ they both thought as they stood and started making their way to the cabins.

_~ Morning ~_

Rachel woke feeling a lot better than from the way she was feeling last night. Stretching, she sat up on the bed and let out a yawn. She looked to Finn's bed and was a bit surprised to see it empty. She looked to the bathroom door and saw that it was closed. Taking this opportunity to try and get some more sleep, she collapsed back onto the bed only to hear the door open, and see Finn walk out. Groaning she sat back up.

"Morning" she mumbled rubbing her eyes.

"Morning" said Finn as he started to grab whatever items he had left hanging around, and started shoving them into his duffel bag.

Rachel silently observed him before realizing that she may be staring. She got up chose and outfit to wear; a pair of black sweat pants and a bright pink tank top, and grabbed her bathroom necessities. She entered the bathroom without saying another word to Finn, and 20 minutes later when she came out, she found him gone, along with all his other belongings. Sighing, she stuffed her bag with all of her extra clothes and belongings. She then put on some eyeliner and mascara, and decided to let her hair out today. After putting the last of her items away she took one last sweeping look around the cabin to make sure she wasn't forgetting something. Her eyes fell on a red hat on the ground. She bent down and picked it up. It was Finn's. _'I should give it to him.'_ She thought as she grabbed her bag and left the cabin.

_~ With Quinn ~_

Quinn was busy getting together all of her things when Puck finally decided to wake up. Opening his eyes he glanced at his clock and screamed in a very high voice.

"Why didn't you wake me?" he yelled running here and there trying to shove things into his bag.

"Oh but, you seemed so peaceful I didn't have the heart to wake you!" replied Quinn in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Puck glared at her before dashing into the bathroom where he spent just ten minutes before running out with a towel wrapped around his torso.

"Would you put some clothes on!" shrieked Quinn averting her gaze.

"There's a bug in there!" cried Puck sounding much like a five year old.

"Uhh … okay?" said Quinn. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't know! Kill it maybe?" exclaimed Puck with obvious fear in his eyes.

"HAHA buddy, I'm afraid you're on your own." she said with an evil glint in her eyes, and with that she left, grabbing all her belongings and leaving poor Puck standing there with nothing but a towel around his waist.

Sighing, Puck was going to attempt to go back into the bathroom, when a glint of silver caught his eyes. He walked towards it and picked it up, only to find that it was Quinn's bracelet. Grinning mischievously to himself he though, _'I could do a lot with this…'_ then proceeded on to the dreaded bathroom.

_~ With Rachel ~ _

Rachel was walking through the crowd of people searching for one specific boy. When she finally caught sight of him, she ran to his direction and stopped right in front of him.

"Hey" she said with a smile.

Finn turned his head slightly and gave her a small nod.

"Umm… I found this in the cabin…" she started suddenly finding the situation very awkward. She pulled the hat out from being her back and handed it to him.

"Thanks. I didn't realize I forgot it..." Finn said. He then noticed her hair was let down, instead of the usual ponytail that all the cheerios had. "You should wear your hair like that more often..." Finn said. Rachel blushed, before nodding and walking away, just when Puck made his way to Finn. He turned to look at her retreating form before turning to face Finn.

"What was that?" Puck asked, while Finn just looked confused.

"_What _was what?" Finn asked. Puck shook his head.

"Dude. Did you not _see _that? I don't know what you did, but keep doing it!" Puck exclaimed, patting his friend on the back.

"Keep doing what? What are you even talking about?" Finn asked, practically yelled. Puck looked on both sides of him before pulling him to the side.

"Dude, you know how you've been getting shit from Karofsky and Azimio?" Puck said. Finn raised his eyebrow and nodded. "Well, do you really think you'd be getting all this crap if you were, I don't know, _popular_?" Finn shrugged. "No, dude. You would _not _get treated like that if you were popular!" Puck exclaimed.

"So what exactly do you want me to do here?" Finn asked. Puck slapped his forehead, groaning.

"Do I have to explain _everything _to you? Use that Berry chick to get popular!" Puck said.

"What? How do you expect me to do _that_?" Finn asked. He didn't really want to use Rachel like that. But he also didn't really understand what Puck was getting at.

"Dude, anyone with two eyes could see the way she was blushing when she walked away after talking to you. Use that to your advantage. Pretend to be interested in her. Get her to fall for you. Then when you become popular, dump her. I mean come on, you'd be the most popular guy in all of Lima if you dumped the _head cheerleader_!" Puck exclaimed. Finn had a speechless, shocked look on his face.

"That's just _wrong_ dude!" Finn said. Puck just shrugged.

"Fine. Don't listen to me. Have fun getting trashed on for the rest of your life." Puck said before walking over to Quinn, clearly bugging her again. _'Use her to gain popularity...?' _Finn thought, shaking his head before walking to where Mr. Schuester was doing roll-call.

"Alright. So we've got everyone! Good! Let's get in, guys!" Mr. Schuester said, getting on the bus, taking his seat at the front. Finn made his way to the back, sitting next to Puck, just like on the way there. The bus started driving off, leaving the camp behind. Somewhere in the middle of the drive back, Rachel turned to look at Finn, smiling at him. Finn then thought back to what Puck had said. _'Pretend to be interested in her...Dump her...You'll be the most popular guy in Lima...Have fun getting trashed on for the rest of your life' _Finn shook his head of the thoughts before laying back in the seat, cover his eyes with his hat, and snoozing off.

_~With Rachel and Quinn~_

Rachel was sitting in the bus thinking about everything that had happened on their trip. _'Maybe I like him'_ she thought a bit confused. She felt Quinn nudge her, and she turned her head in her direction.

"What's up with you and Frankenteen?" she asked catching Rachel off-guard.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in total confusion.

"I'm talking about Hudson." she replied with a knowing look.

"Oh... nothing, why?" she asked still confused.

Quinn gave her friend a scrutinizing look. "If you say so." Was all she said.

"What about you and Puck?" she asked Quinn breaking the silence.

"What? Oh nothing… he's a huge pain in the ass… but besides that nothing really. Why do you ask?" she asked Rachel.

"Well, you two seemed to be getting along a lot better than you were from the beginning of the trip." she replied.

Quinn looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Are you insane? We are not getting along well. He's still the same jerk that he was the first day I met him." she said completely forgetting about the time when he was actually kind of nice to her.

Rachel looked at her friend shrugged and glanced back out the window. They were both silent for a while, when Rachel decided to break the silence.

"Do you think I should ask out Finn?"

This question caught Quinn by total surprise and she was speechless for a few moments, before she was completely overtaken by anger.

"You want to ask HIM out? Of all people him? Why Rachel? What is wrong with you?" she asked trying not to yell right into her face.

Rachel gave her a look. "Why? What's wrong with Finn? He's a really nice guy once you get to know him."

"He may be nice, but have you forgotten that he ISN'T popular? You are way at the top while he's at the very bottom. Rock bottom. Besides, I bet you don't REALLY know him." Quinn stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Rachel was shocked at her answer. So what if he wasn't popular. She didn't care. She liked him for who he was, and that was all that mattered to her. "I don't care if he isn't as popular as me. I like his personality, and he's nice to me... kind of. So I am going to do what I think is right for me." she said with sincerity in her voice.

"Listen to me Rachel, I'm only telling you this because I care about you. I'm your best friend. Just hear me out will you? This can ruin your life more than you think. Don't do it. Trust me on this." Quinn said trying to put some sense into Rachel's clearly empty head.

"Fine. I won't ask him out." said Rachel realizing that maybe Quinn may be right about this.

Everyone was walking around like zombies the next day. They had arrived back to school around 6 p.m. and went straight home exhausted from the journey. Finn had been up all night thinking about what Puck had told him. Should he or shouldn't he? He knew it was wrong to play with someone's heart like that, but at the same time his life wasn't what you would call amazing. Anyone in his position would be thinking the same thing he was. Rachel would probably say yes if he asked her out. She seemed to be pretty fond of him… even though he couldn't figure it out. _'Chicks.'_ he thought. Just as he turned the corner Azimio dumped an entire slushy onto Finn's head. Azimio laughed while walking away from a slushy covered Finn Hudson. He caught sight of a certain brunette haired girl and thought _'I have to do it.'_

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	6. Chapter 6

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After making his decision, Finn was pacing around his room, thinking of how to initiate the not-very-thought-out plan. Something then clicked in his head. Puck. He was the one who told him to do it, so he should be the one to help him with it, right? Deciding that asking Puck would be the best thing to do, he snuck out of his house quietly walking past his passed out uncle.

When he arrived at Puck's house, he made his way to the door and rang the doorbell. Puck answered it giving his a confused look as if asking, 'What the hell are you doing here?'

"I need your help." said Finn.

"With what? Couldn't this wait until tomorrow at school?" asked Puck glancing at the clock which read 10 p.m.

"No it couldn't." said Finn walking inside as Puck moved out of the doorway. "Its about the whole Rachel thing."

Puck's face changed from confusion to understanding. "Oh, does it have something to do with my idea?" he asked.

"Actually, yes it does. I want to do it. Ask out Rachel I mean, to become popular." said Finn.

"Yeah man, I knew you'd come around." said Puck grinning. "What you have to do first is turn on the charms. Make her feel special, a little flirting, you know what I mean?"

When Finn gave him a strange look Puck sighed and walked over to sit down.

"What I'm saying is give her something, like a flower maybe I hear girls dig that," he said looking over at his mother's vase on the table.

"A flower? Really?" asked Finn kind of confused. _'Can a flower really be that amazing?'_ he asked himself.

"Yeah, start off small, and work your way up my friend." Puck said leaning back. "Anyways, you want something? To eat or drink or something?" asked Puck not really familiar with the idea of playing host.

"No, it's alright, I should probably get going now." said Finn as he stood up. "Later man," he said and was out the door in a flash. When Finn got home, he tip-toed past his drunk, passed out uncle once more, and went in his room. Locking his door, he jumped on his bed, sighing. He layed on his back with his arms behind his head. He fell asleep with thoughts of how to win a certain brunette over.

When Finn sat down in class the next day, he did something he usually never would do. But given the certain circumstances, he _waved_ at Rachel. She looked confused, but nonetheless, waved back, awkwardly. The rest of the class, he constantly made eye contact with Rachel, and he _tried_, really _tried _to smile. Only the corners of his mouth flipped up, though, it was quite an improvement for him. At lunch, when he passed her, he mumbled a 'Hey' at her while passing by her at her locker.. _'Well'_ Rachel thought, _'Someone's becoming a little bit more friendly._

At the end of the day, Finn rushed home. He quickly signed onto his computer and went on Google. He furiously clicked away at the keyboard. Finally, he managed to type _'How to win a girl's heart'_. He clicked on the first one that came up, and had a devilish look on his face, and printed it out.

~_With Rachel~_

Finn seemed like he was acting strange yesterday, and it deeply confused her. _'Have I finally broken him down? Atleast a little?' _She asked herself, as she walked through the halls in her Cheerios uniform, with her hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. She was walking along side Quinn, who was rambling on about something Puck did that annoyed her, but Rachel wasn't paying much attention, which was unusual for her. Even though she wasn't supposed to, she was thinking about a certain 6'3" outcast. She was definitely out of it. So out of it, infact, that she didn't notice a spilled slushie on the ground in front of her. She yelped as she skidded forward, her books flying everywhere. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact of the cold, hard tile, but it never came. Instead, she felt two, strong, warm arms around her, and felt her face smushed into someone's chest. She pulled back and was shocked at who had caught her.

"F-Finn?" She mumbled.

"Well, that was quite a display. A pretty...unusual form of skating. You're no Michelle Kwan, that's for sure" Finn said with a tone of humor in his voice.

"It's not funny" She said pouting. "But thank you. For catching me." Rachel thanked him with a 1000-watt smile.

"No problem. If you ever fall, I'll be there to catch you" Finn took a moment to look her up and down, "By the way, you look good." He said winking, before walking away, leaving her blushing. Quinn approached her with her books that had fallen when she slipped.

"What the _hell _was that?" Quinn whispered harshly, handing Rachel her books.

"T-that? It was n-nothing!" Rachel stuttered causing Quinn to give her a skeptical look.

"Oh really? I don't believe that, Rachel." Quinn started, "It doesn't matter what it was, because you can _never _date him. Right?"

"Right" Rachel said monotonously. She watched Finn's fading figure pass through the hall, before she turned and followed Quinn to their class.

_~With Finn~_

As soon as the bell for lunch was sounded, Finn headed to his locker. He put in his combination, opening his lock and his locker. He started at the small item placed in water. _'Phase one: flirting- complete. Phase two: Complementing- complete. Now onto phase three.' _He thought, taking the item, closing his locker and started making his way towards Rachel's locker.

Fortunately for Finn, Rachel was right at her locker, alone, when he got there. He hid behind the door of the locker. Rachel closed the locker door, and nearly jumped out of shock when she saw Finn standing there.

"Scare ya?" He asked. Rachel glared at him.

"Yes. Yes, you did." Finn chuckled and fumbled for a minute.

"Um, here" He said, forcing an item in his hand at her. She hesitantly took it.

"What's this?" She asked. She knew what it was, but she wanted to know _why _he would give her one.

"A flower..." Rachel raised her eyebrow.

"I can see that...but why?" She asked confusedly.

"I heard chicks like flowers." Finn said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"Um...thanks? How romantic" She replied sarcastically. "Not that I don't appreciate this thoughtful gesture, but Finn, what'd you get me a flower for?"

"Just thought you'd like it" Finn replied shrugging. He turned his back and walked away. When he was out of sight, Rachel opened her locker back up. She took a moment to admire the flower. She then inhaled the scent, sighing. _'It's gorgeous' _She thought smiling, before putting it in her locker, and heading off to lunch.

_~With Puck and Quinn~_

"Hey, Quinn!" Puck yelled, walking up to the cheerleader.

"What do you want?" She scoffed. Puck shrugged before pulling something from behind him. It was a textbook.

"You forgot this in class. Thought I'd return it to you." He said. Quinn hesitantly took it before facing him.

"Thank you" She said softly, smiling slightly at him.

"No prob. See ya later" Puck said before turning around and walking away. _'Why the hell was he nice' _She thought. _'I wish he was like that more often.'_

_~ Last bell of the day~_

Once again, Finn was at Rachel's locker. But he was there before her. He huffed and ran his hand through his hair. _'This is gonna be tough' _He thought, _'But I have to do it'_. Rachel then appeared with a confused smile on her face.

"Uh, Hey Finn! It seems I'm always running into you lately. What are you doing here?" She asked cheerily.

"Uh. I actually came here to ask you something..."He trailed off. Rachel looked at him with eyes full of questioning.

"What is it?" Rachel asked curiously. Finn inhaled deeply before tilting his head down to meet the eyes of the short brunette.

"I was wondering...If you'd like to go out with me"

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	7. Chapter 7

_Hey everyone! Thanks for all the kind reviews! You're amazing :). I just wanted to let you all know, unfortunatly, we will be updating less frequently, for the sole fact that we have started school. :( Don't fret, though! We **will** continue writing. I will write chapters on the go, in a notebook, during classes that I am bored in :P or have a spare period._

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

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"_I was wondering__...If you'd like to go out with me" _

The question caught her off guard and Rachel stood there staring at Finn not knowing what to say. After opening and closing her mouth several times she finally spoke.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, why would I joke about something like this?" asked Finn confused.

"Oh I-" Rachel stopped remembering the promise she made Quinn. I cant go out with him she told herself. No matter how much I want to, I can't and boy did she want to.

"Listen Finn, I'm flattered that you asked me, but I can't." she said.

"Why not?" Finn asked her a little confused. _'Didn't she like me?'_ he thought.

"The thing is, I'm not really looking for a relationship right now. I have to focus on school and stuff. I'm really sorry Finn." she said trying hard not to scream yes and jump into his arms.

"Oh okay." said Finn. "Don't worry Rachel. You're going to want me, you can count on that." he said winking before turning around and walking away.

Gah! Why does he have to be so irresistible? Rachel inwardly growled before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

_~ After School ~ _

"Hey daddy, ready to go?" asked Rachel as she walked into his classroom.

"Hey honey, I can't leave just yet. Some students have detention for not handing in their Spanish assignments so I'm going to have to stay. You go home and I'll be there in a while." said Mr. Schuester.

"Okay, bye daddy." said Rachel placing a kiss on her fathers' cheek before leaving.

"Mom, I'm home!" called Rachel as she entered through the door.

"Hey honey how was your day? Where's your father?" she asked as she realized her daughter was alone.

"It was alright I guess, and daddy needed to stay behind to deal with some detention stuff." She said.

"Alright, would you like something to eat?" asked Shelby.

"No thank you, mom, I'm not really that hungry." Rachel said before collapsing on the sofa.

"Is everything okay?" asked Shelby growing worried. "Do you have a fever?" she asked reaching to feel her forehead.

"No, mother, I'm fine." said Rachel pushing her hand away.

"Okay, if you say so." said Shelby starting to get up.

"Wait mom," said Rachel, "There's something I kind of would like to talk to you about." Said Rachel not knowing how to say it.

"What is it sweetie?" asked Shelby sitting down beside her.

"It's about a boy..." Rachel said hesitantly informing her. Shelby nodded, motioning for her to continue

"Well, there's this boy that I really like, but he isn't what you would call popular, and he asked me out today." Rachel started, "I want to go out with him, like, _really_ badly, but Quinn told me how it could be bad for my reputation being head Cheerio and all. So when he asked me, I said no, but now, I feel that I may have made a huge mistake because I kind of really like him mom. What do I do now?" asked Rachel feeling very desperate.

Shelby sighed, "Oh honey, if you really like this boy this much, then you should go out with him. Don't worry about your reputation because that doesn't affect you in the future. It won't matter how popular you were once graduate. Follow your heart, and you will be happy." said Shelby.

"I guess you're right mom. I think I'm going to do what I want to do and not listen to Quinn, or anyone else." Rachel said determinedly.

Shelby smiled at her daughter, "Now, would you like something to eat?" she asked again.

Before Rachel could answer, her stomach let out a growl. They both started laughing.

"Yes please!" Rachel said with enthusiasm.

_~ Puck and Quinn ~ _

"Puck cut it out!" yelled a frustrated Quinn. It was after school and the two were outside the school waiting for their rides.

"But baby your so fine!" exclaimed Puck earning a death glare from Quinn.

"How about we get out of here and do something together?" asked Puck eyes lighting up with hope.

"Or how about YOU get out of here, and leave me the hell alone!" she said starting to get really ticked off.

"But wait! Don't you want to be with me?" asked Puck in an innocent voice. "I thought we had something special!" He screamed, with a slight tone of humor in his voice.

"FUCK NO!" yelled Quinn and started running off, and tripping over her own two feet in the process. "Owww!" she moaned as she sat up rubbing her leg.

"Are you okay?" asked Puck in a worried voice as he tried to pull her up to her feet. "That was quite a fall." He smirked.

"Yeah, I think so, my leg just really hurts." she said leaning on him.

"I know something that might make you feel better!" He declared. Quinn was shocked when he wrapped his arms around her waist, enveloping her in a warm hug. It took her a minute, but she allowed herself to indulge in the embrace and reciprocated. She leaned her head against his chest and sighed.

"You were right. This does kind of make me feel-" Quinn started to say, but was stopped by a sensation of someone's hand. Puck's hand was on her ass _again_. She broke the hug before looking at him with fiery eyes. "You're a jerk, Puckerman!" she screamed. Puck lifted his hands up in defense, with an innocent look on his face.

"What'd I do?" He asked, with a child-like expression. This caused Quinn to become even more angry.

"You know very well what you did. I don't even know why I allow you to even _converse _with me!" yelled Quinn, causing Puck to smirk.

"Because you totally dig me!" He exclaimed happily. Quinn scoffed before hopping around. _'Maybe a little? NO! No, Quinn, no! Bad! You will NOT have any feelings for Noah Puckerman other than hate.'_ She thought, before she started hopping off.

"Just _leave_ me alone from now on!" She threw over her shoulder. Puck's face softened. _'She looked really mad' _He thought, _'Of course she would be mad! You're an idiot, Puck!' _

"Quinn!" He yelled, trying to get her attention. She turned around, looking furious.

"_WHAT?_" She hissed. Puck smiled.

"You look cute when you're mad" He declared.

"Well, I must be adorable right now. Now if you excuse me, I have to hop home" Quinn said, before turning away. Puck quickly jogged up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder, spinning her to face him.

"Will you _ever_ just leave me alone? This better be damn important, it's going to take a while to get home this way, and you're just wasting my time" She spat at him.

"I was just going to offer you a ride home." Puck told her sheepishly. Quinn immediately softened. Puck then took her hand and helped her into the passenger side of his truck, before heading into the driver's side, and started up the car. They drove off in silence before Quinn broke the silence.

"Why would you offer me a ride home after the way I've been treating you?" She asked softly, almost a whisper. Puck shrugged, before smiling.

"It's to be expected. _I _was a jerk. But I just can't help it, It's who I am. I'm the reason you got hurt, If I hadn't bothered you, you wouldn't have had to walk away angry." Puck said sincerely. Quinn let out a small laugh.

"That's true, it is kind of your fault" She laughed when Puck scoffed, "But I really appreciate this. Thank you" She said, as they pulled up into her drive way. Puck turned off the engine and turned to her.

"You're welcome" He flashed her a smile. Quinn fidgeted for a moment.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked him, looking up at him for the go, which she got in the form of a nod.

"Why do you waste so much time on me?" Quinn asked, causing Puck to look at her confusedly.

"What do you mean?"

"You're always flirting with me. I mean, you could have a lot of girls; even though you aren't popular, I can't deny that you're good looking" She said, causing Puck to smirk with pride. "Why _me_?"

"I don't know" Puck shrugged, "But you've kinda got a... a _hold _on me, Fabray." They both blushed.

"A hold?" She asked, unsure.

"Yeah, I mean I've liked you since second grade. _Second _grade, Quinn. It's insane! But you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen" Puck told her, kind of embarrassed and kind of shocked that he was revealing this information to her. Quinn blushed.

"Wow, Puck..." She said softly, before leaning over and placing a kiss on his cheek. "That's the sweetest thing _anyone_'s ever said to me."

"So you'll go out with me?" He asked hopefully. Quinn just laughed.

"I'm sorry, Puck. I don't think that's the reality of all this." She said, instantly feeling bad when she saw his face fall, "It's not like it could _never_ happen though."

"I'll win you over one day, Fabray. Expect to see from me, a _lot_" Puck said, smiling. Quinn returned it.

"I'm anticipating it" She laughed. Quinn turned to open his truck door. Before getting out, she turned her head back to him.

"Bye, Puckerman." She said smiling.

"Bye, Fabray" He returned. Quinn then took the chance to get out of the car and walk into her house. When she was safely inside her house, Puck touched the burning spot on his cheek which Quinn had kissed. He grinned, before starting the truck and headed to his house.

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	8. Chapter 8

_Gah, sorry for keeping all you lovely people waiting for so long! But we, unfortunately, had school, and were both flooded with school work :(. But, the good news is, that we're updating a new chapter! Yay! :)_

_Who's excited for season 2? It's so close! :D. Who else has heard the full versions of Empire state of mind, and Telephone? They're amazing :)_

_Warning: Reading this chapter may force you to think Emma Pillsbury is even more crazy than she normally is._

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

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Rachel slammed her locker shut and leaned back against it. She was still very confused about Finn, with him asking her out. On one hand, she wanted to go out with him, get to know him better. _But_, and there was _always _a but, when she thought about her conversations with Quinn, she knew that her popularity _would _be affected. Rachel wasn't superficial at all, but she didn't want to get picked on again. Rachel then remembered her talk with her mother. She knew that she liked him, and she wants to, _really _wants to go out with him. _'What to do…'_ thought Rachel sighing, and turned around in time to see Finn walking up to her.

"Hey," he said giving her a forced smile."I got you this." he said stretching out his hand towards her to reveal a slushie.

"Oh, why thank you," said Rachel smiling at him, reaching out to take it from him.

Just as she was about to take it from his hands, Santana came up from behind Rachel, and grabbed it before Rachel could. She took it in the blink of an eye, and dumped the contents all over Finn's head. "You're such a LOSER! Why are you even talking to one of the cheerleaders? Never mind the _head _cheerleader. Now leave her alone, Frankenteen." she declared with a sleazy smile. She gave Rachel a disappointed look, as if she were to say, _'What are you doing with __**him?**__'_ then turned around and walked away.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Rachel her mouth hanging wide open. Finn stood still, staring at the ground while slushie dripped down his body. Finn shut his eyes tightly. Partially to prevent slushie from entering and burning his eyes, and partially trying to ignore the laughter that followed with the slushie dumping.

"I'll help you clean this off!" Rachel declared. Grabbing his hand, she started to pull him in the direction of the girl's washroom.

"I can't go in there!" said Finn looking at her with a horrified expression.

"Oh hush up! No one even uses these bathrooms. Besides, do you want to talk around for the rest of the day like this?" she asked gesturing at his slushie stained shirt, which was still dripping wet.

Finn didn't do anything but shake his head.

"That's what I thought, now come." she said pulling him through the doors.

Rachel had been right. No one was in the bathroom, and when Finn realized this he relaxed a little. Rachel found the ladder that the janitor left in there, when he once had to clean spitballs off of the ceiling. She positioned it near the sink, and motioned for Finn to sit down. He followed suit, and was gently pushed back, so he was laying down, with his head on the sink. Rachel then sat on his lap, causing him to blush slightly, and took a damp washcloth.

She worked in silence, not knowing what to say to him. She tried to avoid eye-contact as much as she could. She felt sorry for Finn. He had to put up with this all the time. It didn't even happen to her, but she felt shaken-up. _'Imagine life as Finn'_ she sadly thought. She knew he didn't deserve all of this, but what could she do? As she was finishing up, she stole a quick glance at him. He was gazing at her intently, and she seemed to shiver under his stare. Something seemed wrong to her about his look, but she shook it off, looking at her finished 'masterpiece.'

Rachel was sitting on Finn's lap trying to get off as much of the slushie as she could. _'Ugh, why do I feel like this?'_ she asked herself as she tried to focus only on the slushie. She looked at Finn quickly before looking away, and she noticed that he looked like he was in pain. She placed her hand down and moved a little so that she could reach the other places, and wasn't paying attention to where her hand was. She noticed that Finn's face was crimson red, and he was staring down. A little confused she also looked down to see that her hand was near his er, well, private area.

"OH MY GOSH, I'M SO SORRY!" shrieked Rachel as she moved to jump off his lap, also turning red in the face.

"S'okay," mumbled Finn as he stood up himself adjusting his shirt. He gave Rachel a long look before he turned his back on her and started walking off.

Rachel was still a little shaken up at what just happened. _'How can he act as if nothing happened?'_ she asked herself as she turned red again thinking about it.

"Hey," said Finn turning around to see a very red Rachel gawking at him. "Thanks," he said giving her a strange look before continuing out the door.

"Ms. Pillsbury please," pleaded Will Schuester. Miss. Pillsbury had been flirting with him for a while now, but now it was getting way to out of hand. "I have a wife, and a daughter." he said trying to talk some sense into, but clearly failing at it.

"I don't care!" she said, "And neither should you! No one will know as long as we don't tell them!" she said with a flirtatious smile. "I know you want me as much as I want you!" she said with a crazy look on her face.

"No, you've got it all wrong. I only talk to you as a friend. Nothing more then just a friend. I'm sorry if you got the wrong signal, but like I said I'm married with a woman who I love with all my heart, and I have a daughter as well." he said hoping she finally got the hint this time.

Miss. Pillsbury didn't seemed to have gotten the hint because, she leaned over on his desk, and started to pucker up her lips. Realizing what she was trying to do Mr. Schuester jumped back, but not before Rachel had walked in and saw it all happen.

"Dad?" she asked with a look of hurt, confusion, and anger on her face. "What is going _on_?" she asked.

"Honey!" he said running over to his daughter and tried to hide behind her from the crazy Miss. Pillsbury. "You know what happened," he said giving his daughter a knowing look. Realization passed over Rachel's face as she understood what had been happening. She knew that Miss. Pillsbury has a creepy obsession with her father, but she hadn't known it was this bad!

"Miss. Pillsbury, with all due respect, enough is enough!" Rachel yelled. "Let's face the facts, my father doesn't like you." she said trying to break it to her easily. "If you hadn't already known, he is married, and I am the product of that successful marriage." she said slightly smiling.

"But he loves me!" said a delirious Miss. Pillsbury.

"Okay, I am really surprised that my mother hasn't gone Kung-Fu on your ass yet." Rachel mumbled to herself, but her father heard her.

"Rachel! Watch your tongue!" he said.

"Sorry daddy," she said rolling her eyes. "But don't tell me that you haven't thought about it as well." she said giving her dad a knowing look. Mr. Schuester didn't reply.

"As I was saying, my dad is happily married so it would be much appreciated of you would leave him alone from now on." said Rachel determined to get her point across.

"No! I will NOT leave him alone until he admits to having feelings for me!" said Miss. Pillsbury.

Rachel twitched, she had had enough of all this bullshit.

"I swear we just went through this, didn't we daddy?" she asked turning to her dad. All Mr. Schuester did was nod, when Rachel got going there was no stopping her.

"NO! I want to hear it from him!" Miss. Pillsbury yelled.

Mr. Schuester groaned in frustration. "Okay, I am going to make this as easy to understand as I possibly can. I. Do. Not. Like. You." he said getting right down to the point.

Miss. Pillsbury's eyes started welling up with tears. "How could you? You son of a bitch!" she started yelling as her body was being wracked with sobs. She fell over onto the floor crying, and going into hysterics, while forcefully petting a ruler that happened to be on the ground.

"Daddy, I'm kind of scared," said Rachel moving behind her father.

Mr. Schuester was too afraid to speak, so grabbing his daughter, he ran out of the classroom, leaving Miss. Pillsbury to cry to her lonesome self.

As soon as they felt they were 'safe' from Miss. Pillsbury, Rachel stopped and turned to her father.

"Daddy, you've gotta tell Mom 'bout Miss. Crazy!" She whispered harshly.

"Honey, you know your Mom's gonna freak! Besides, nothing happened!" Mr. Schuester defended. Rachel gave him a skeptical, disbelieving look.

"Not _this_ time, but it _could _happen! It's creepy, and terrifying, and completely _wrong_ to walk in on a crazy old bat pulling a move on your father!" Rachel argued, furrowing her eyebrows as her voice rose.

"Rachel, you know your mother will go crazy!"

"I know, and it'd be best if she did! I don't care if she goes bat-shit crazy; pardon my language" Rachel said, furiously. "And if you don't tell her, I _will_." Rachel declared, before stomping off.

Rachel was at her locker, when she felt someone there. She looked past her locker door, and saw Finn. She turned to face him and smirked.

"It seems like you just can't stay away, huh?" She jokingly asked. "How many times have you been here in the past week?" At that, Finn shrugged.

"Dunno." He replied nonchalantly.

"So what brings you here, Mr. Hudson?" She asked, very lightheartedly. That is, until she looked up and saw Finn's very serious face. "Something wrong?" She asked worriedly. Finn shook his head, and relief filled Rachel's body.

"What is it then?" She asked.

"Same thing as yesterday." He stated. "I want you to go out with me" He said. Rachel's eyes widened.

"Finn...I don't know..." She trailed off.

"Please, just..." Finn started, trying to think on his feet. "Just one date." He pleaded.

"I don't..." Rachel was cut off.

"Just _one_. Come on, what do you have to lose?" He bargined. Rachel pondered for a minute before coming up with her decision.

"Alright. One date." She said smiling.

"Cool" He breathed. "Saturday cool for you?" He asked, receiving a nod.

"Alright. 7 p.m. Meet me at Breadsticks." Finn stated, not waiting for an answer before walking off. Rachel smiled to herself. She has a date with Finn. Only one thought crossed her mind: _'What am I going to wear?'_

* * *

_Ohh, looks like Finn's 'plan' is heading somewhere! The date is the next chapter!_

_Poll: Should Emma and Shelby have a show down? And if so, what would you like to see happen? But, **we are not breaking Shelby and Will up. **Sorry, not in this story :)_

_Thank you all for your positive feedback! It really means a lot to us! So, please REVIEW! :D_

_:) xxx 3_

_M & A._


	9. Chapter 9

_Gah! Here's the long awaited Date chapter! We're even nervous, and we're the ones that wrote it! Usually, we finish the next chapter before posting one, but we didn't finish chapter 10 yet :( We were just too excited, and wanted to post something before the SEASON TWO PREMIERE OF GLEE. WHICH IS TONIGHT! :O So excited!_

_Anyways... Thank you all so much for 61 reviews! Could we try to make it to 100 by chapter 11? It'd be the bestest thing ever :D Like, seriously, it would get us SUPER pumped and we'd write like crazy...so?_

_Next chapter, there will be a TWIST :) Which we are very excited for!_

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

* * *

Rachel was in her bedroom, preparing for her date with Finn, when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in" she called. The door opened, revealing her mother. Shelby walked in, sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her, motioning for Rachel to sit.

"What's up, Mom? Is something wrong?" Rachel asked as she sat down. Shelby shook her head.

"No, honey, I just figured it's time to have the 'date talk' with you" she explained. "Now, when a girl is out, alone, with a teenage boy, he'll be thinking about one thing" she started, chuckling when she heard her daughter groan in protest. "I know, I know. I hate this too, and I feel just as awkward as you do, but it's important. We don't want _anyone_ forcing you to do something you wouldn't want to do-"

"But Mom!" Rachel whined. "Finn's not like that! He's a nice guy...a little rough around the edges but I can fix that! And anyways, if he wanted to take advantage of me, he could've when we were _alone_ in a cabin for a week" Rachel exclaimed, cutting her mother off.

"But there were teachers near-by at all times!"

"But we were on cabin arrest for a full day!"

"What?" Shelby asked shocked and unaware of the news.

"Yeah. Finn and I were alone in a cabin, all day and night with no adult supervision. He could've done something but he _didn't_" she stated. "Instead, he spent all day sleeping" Rachel grumbled, more to herself than to her mother. Shelby raised her eyebrows at her daughter.

"You _wanted _something to happen?"

"What? Uh, um, uh, No!" Rachel fumbled, blushing. "I just don't like being ignored" she stated. Her mother gave her a disbelieving look. "Mom, it's just weird. I didn't get any attention from him. I mean, I'm captain of the Cheerios. _Most _guys would take advantage of our..._situation_, and tap this. But Finn didn't. He's different"

"If you say so, honey." Shelby said with a tone of humor in her voice, while rolling her eyes smiling.

"Mom!" Rachel jokingly whined, causing her mother to laugh.

"I'm kidding, I'm just kidding. Don't need to get all worked up!" Shelby said smiling. "But, your father and I still want you to be safe"

"I will be _fine_. Don't worry!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Honey, I'm your mother. It's my _job_ to worry! Well, that and the private vocal classes I run, but my number one job is to worry about you!" When Rachel rolled her eyes, Shelby laughed. "Just wait 'till you have kids! Now, let's get back on topic. Your father and I still want you to be safe.-"

"And I _will _be" Rachel cut her off.

"As I said, your father and I still want you to be safe, so we want you to carry this around with you. _Always_" Shelby said, pulling out a small whistle and placed it in Rachel's hand.

"What is it?" Rachel asked, examining the small silver object.

"It's a rape whistle." her mother said simply.

"Good to know you have such optimistic expectations for me." Rachel said sarcastically, getting up off her bed. Shelby followed suit.

"Ha-ha. Funny. But I'm serious. Keep that thing on you at all times." Shelby said, before heading towards the door.

"Wait! Mom!" Rachel called. Shelby turned around. "I have to tell you something." Rachel said.

"What is it, sweetie?" Her mother asked her in a gentle tone.

"You remember the councilor at school?"

Shelby chuckled. "You mean the one that had that crazy crush on your father?"

"Yeah. Her" Rachel said nodding. "Well, she still does have a crush on dad.."

"Oh, really?" Shelby asked, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms.

"Yeah." Rachel nodded. "And well, yesterday, I kind of walked in on her trying to kiss dad." Rachel watched her mother's facial expression change from one of shock, to one of fury.

"She did _what_?" Shelby shrieked.

"I really don't want to repeat it! After I walked in, Dad hid behind me. Poor guy, he looked so frightened.

"I'm going to go have a word with your father." Shelby said.

Before she opened it, she turned around. "I'll leave you now to get ready for your date. It's 6:50. You're supposed to meet him at 7, right?" She said before spinning around, opening the door and walking out. When realization that she was going to be late, Rachel started freaking out, and went into a mad rush to get ready.

"Will," Shelby said, as her husband sat down next to her on the couch.

"Yeah, honey?" Will asked.

"Is that pastry lady still hitting on you?" She asked. Will looked at her confusedly for a minute, before the realization of who she was talking about clicked in his head.

"You mean Emma Pillsbury?" Shelby nodded. "Rachel told you, huh?"

"Yes, she told me. But _you _should've been the one who told me" Shelby said, sternly, squinting her eyes at him.

"Honey, I know how jealous you get, I didn't want you to get frustrated."

"Excuse me? _Jealous_? Of _that _redheaded tramp? Get real, Will" Shelby scoffed, causing her husband to laugh.

"You have absolutely nothing to be jealous about. I married _you_, didn't I?" Will joked. Just then, Rachel came rushing down the stairs, yelling goodbyes to her parents.

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" She yelled as she walked out the door.

"Be home by-" Will started to yell, but to no avail, as Rachel had already slammed the door. He turned back to his wife and grinned devilishly.

"We're all alone" He said, smirking. Shelby nodded, also grinning.

"You know what that means" She told him. They nodded.

"ICE CREAM SUNDAES!" They yelled in unison.

Finn sat at the table for two in Breadsticks, tapping his foot hurriedly in anxiousness. He looked down at his watch. _7:33_. It read. Finn sighed and ran his hand through his neatly combed chestnut hair. _'I knew it'_ he thought, _'She stood me up!' _Finn thought angrily. Just as Finn stood up, about to grab his jacket and walk out, the door opened and a short brunette came running in. Rachel looked around, and smiled brightly when she spotted Finn. She walked over to the table.

"Hi" She exhaled, smiling.

"Uh, um, Hi" He fumbled. Finn took in her appearance. She was wearing a gorgeous pink dress with ruffles at the bottom, pink flats, and her hair was curly, which was unusual because it was always straight.

"Y-you look..." Finn started, blushing. He saw Rachel was anticipating the compliment. "Pretty" he said sheepishly. Rachel blushed and beamed at him, after muttering an inaudible 'thank you'. She then took a chance to look him up and down. He was wearing a nice, sleek black dress shirt, with matching black dress pants, and dress shoes. She noticed his hair was neatly brushed, instead of messy, as it usually was.

"You look..._really _good" Rachel complimented, causing Finn to blush. "Thanks" he muttered, while staring at the ground in embarrassment. He stood there, shuffling his feet, before thinking that Rachel might want to sit down. He rushed over to her, and pulled out her chair. Rachel smiled at him before sitting down. "Thank you, Finn. How chivalrous of you" Rachel beamed. Finn looked at her confusedly.

"Thanks...That's a good thing, right?" He asked, as he made his way back to his seat. Finn sat down and watched as Rachel giggled and nodded. Rachel noticed that Finn wasn't looking at her, yet he was intently staring at the glass of water before him, as if it was going to disappear, or do a cool trick any minute.

"Um...so...Theses glasses are really nice..."Rachel said, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah. They're like the glasses that you see...in movies...in cool places like New York...and stuff..." Finn said awkwardly. He blushed and picked up the glass, taking a drink from it to try to calm his nerves. As he put the glass down after drinking, he cleared his throat.

"So, uh-" Finn was cut off by the voice of a waiter.

"Good evening. I'm Jeff, I'll be your waiter for the evening. Are you two ready to order?" He asked politely.

"I'll have the chicken manicotti" Finn ordered. The man nodded and wrote it down before turning to Rachel.

"And for the lovely young lady?"

"Um...I'll just have a salad." Rachel said simply. The waiter nodded.

"And drinks?"

"I'll take a coke" Finn told the older man.

"An iced tea, please" Rachel said. The waiter nodded and walked off.

"So, Finn" Rachel started, causing Finn to look at her. "What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Uh…," Finn started not knowing what to say. "Football, and basketball I guess." he murmured.

"Oh that's cool. Why don't you try out for the school teams?" she asked trying to keep up a conversation.

"No." was Finn's simple reply.

"Oh. Okay." said Rachel sighing, and not bothering to keep talking.

After a few minutes of silence, their food arrived. The waiter placed down each person's respective

meals in front of them and left saying if there was anything they needed, they should call him.

"So," said Finn clearing his voice. "What about you?"

"Huh?" said Rachel confused and surprised with the fact that he was actually talking to her.

"What do you like doing in your spare time?" he asked giving her a stupid look.

"Oh, well I like cheerleading, obviously. I also like gymnastics, dancing, and singing." she answered as she started poking at her salad.

Finn slightly shook his head as he started to dig into his food.

"Actually, when I was younger, it was always my dream to be on Broadway someday." said Rachel.

Finn looked up at her from his food, and stared at her almost as if he was studying her. "You should do it." he said simply, giving her the smallest of smiles before going back to his food.

Rachel blushed as she started to slowly eat her salad.

When they were both finished eating, Finn paid the bill and stood up. "Let's go." he said as he started walking towards the door.

"Where are we going?" asked Rachel as she caught up with him.

"Bowling." Finn said.

"Really?" squealed Rachel. "I love bowling! Even though I suck at it." she said.

They arrived at the bowling alley, Finn asked her for her shoe size and went to rent the shoes.. After getting both of their shoes, the pair walked out to the alley.

"You wanna go first?" asked Finn trying to be a gentlemen.

"You can go first if you want to." said Rachel smiling at him.

Shrugging, Finn picked up a ball, and aimed the ball straight at the pins. Then he brought his arm back, and swung it forward releasing the ball in the process. It went straight and knocked down all of the pins.

Rachel stood with her mouth hanging open. _'Wow! He's really good!'_ she thought.

Finn turned to her and handed her a pink ball. "Your turn."

Rachel nodded nervous all of the sudden. She tried to mimic what Finn had done, and ended up failing miserably, shooting the ball right into the gutter.

"Eh," she said turning around going red in the face.

Finn looked at her, _'She wasn't kidding when she said she sucked.'_ he thought.

"Here," he said handing her another ball. "This is how you do it." he said as she took the ball from him.

He made her stand in front of the pins, and stood behind her. He put his arms around her, pressing his body against hers and put his hands on top of hers which were holding the ball tightly.

'_Oh. My. God. Oh my god! What is he doing?'_ Rachel's shrieked in her head, as her heart started racing uncontrollably at the contact.

Finn aimed their hands at the pins and swiftly moved the ball back, and released it just as he had done previously. The ball went straight and knocked down every single pin.

"See, that's how it's done." said Finn releasing Rachel from his hold.

"O-oh okay," Rachel stammered trying to breathe evenly. "Thanks."

Finn simply shrugged, appearing as if he had not been fazed at all by what had just happened. He went to pick up another ball, and bowled. "Another strike!" Rachel called with a small giggle. When Finn went back to where Rachel was sitting, she got up, smiling. "You're really good at this, Finn." She told him. Finn just shrugged it off, before picking up the same pink ball she used for the first bowl, and handed it to her.

Rachel grabbed the ball and headed towards the line. She tried lining her arm up with the arrow, and released the ball, causing it to go flying, resulting in a strike. She giggle and clapped, jumping up and down. Finn walked up to her.

"Good job." He told her. "Except it flew into the wrong lane." He said, and watched as Rachel's face fell. He went to get the retreating pink ball from the lane next to theirs, and brought it back to Rachel. He handed her the ball, and again, stood behind her, bodies pressed against one another, the back of her tiny hand in his giant one. "Come on, you can do this." He whispered in her ear, causing her face to grow hot.

They both swung, Finn leading, and released the ball. Rachel crossed her fingers as it rolled on. She squealed, jumping up and down when she saw it was a strike. She threw her arms around Finn's neck and hugged him. "That was great, Finn!" She muttered happily into his chest, which her face was pushed up against.

About an hour, and 3 games later, Finn looked at his watch. His eyes almost bulged out when he realized the time. _11:48. _He grabbed her by the hand, handed back their bowling shoes, and scattered out of the bowling alley, heading home. As they were walking, Rachel stole a few glances at Finn, who seemed to be off in his own little world. Seeing as he was obviously not going to start a conversation, she decided she would initiate one.

"So, Finn, how come I never see you at the school football games?" Rachel asked him, causing Finn to turn and look down at the short brunette.

"It's not my scene" He replied simply, "I mean, I pretty much get beat up just for _breathing_, who knows what would happen if I went to one of those games." Rachel frowned at the memory of Finn almost getting beaten up. "Besides," He started, causing Rachel's head to jerk and look at him. He was flashing a half-grin. "Our school's football team _sucks_"

"Oh, really? And you could do better?" She asked jokingly.

"Oh, definitely. If they had me and Puck on that team, we'd be winning games left and right." Finn confidently said. Rachel smiled at his unusual certainty.

"I'm sure you would, Finn" Rachel said beaming at him. He mumbled a quick 'Thanks', shyly, when he noticed her shivering. He slid off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. She looked up at him in question when she felt the weight of the jacket upon her.

"Wha?" She asked. Finn shrugged.

"You looked cold. 'Don't want you getting sick, now." He replied simply. When Finn tore his gaze from her, to the sidewalk ahead of them, Rachel bit her lip to keep her from grinning from ear-to-ear while also blushing.

"Thank you." She said softly. Finn just nodded his head, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Rachel's head snapped to look back up at him. _'First, he's all nice to me, then acts cold, and now acts all warm and gentlemanly. He's so bipolar' _She thought. She then noticed a large group of shady-looking guys walk past them, and one of them knocked into Finn, before glaring at him and walking away. When they were a safe distance away from the group, Finn took his arm off of Rachel. Rachel frowned at the lack of contact._'Stop it, Rachel. Get a hold of yourself.'_ She thought, sighing.

"Sorry about that." Finn said, " I know those guys. They hate me." He told her. Rachel scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"Why do they hate you?" She asked, confusedly. Finn inhaled a deep breath.

"I'd, as they call it, 'ruin their fun'" He started, "If they'd see a pretty girl alone, at night, they'd drag her into some deserted place, and they would...they would do _things _to her, if you know what I mean" He explained. "And I'd stay up 'till really early in the morning, helping the girls run away before they got to them."

Rachel stared up at him in shock and admiration. "Wow...Finn...That's amazing." Finn shrugged.

"It's no big deal" Finn said modestly.

"Yes. It is. That's the bravest, most heroic thing I've ever heard a person do in real life." Rachel said.

"Wait...how did that relate to you putting your arm around me?"

"I spotted them from far away. When they saw you, they got this...gleam in their eyes. They wanted you, Rachel." Finn said softly. "If I'm here, they won't touch you." He said, as they stepped up to Rachel's porch. Rachel grabbed his hand and led him to the swing on the porch, and sat him down, taking a seat right next to him. She then turned to face him and flashed him a small smile.

"Thank you" She whispered, staring into his eyes.

"It was nothing." He replied, waving it off.. Rachel put a hand on his shoulder.

"It was not nothing, Finn. Thank you, I appreciate it a lot." Rachel said. "And also, thank you for the date. I had an amazing time. It was fun"

"I had fun, too" Finn told her, causing Rachel to beam.

"So, Finn, mind if we stay out here for awhile?" She asked softly, looking into the night sky.

"What for?" Finn asked, confused, before he mentally kicked himself. _'You're supposed to be winning the girl over, Einstein. You're an idiot, Finn' _He cursed himself.

"Just...just talk." She said, turning to look at him smiling a small smile. Finn shrugged.

"Whatever you want." He whispered softly. He leaned back against the porch swing, before turning to look at his date. "So, Mr. Schuester's your dad, huh?" He asked, trying to make conversation. Rachel nodded. "That's pretty cool. Mr. Schue's a cool guy. How's it having a teacher as your dad?"

Rachel sighed, before following suit, and leaning back, just as Finn had done. "Most of the time...it's cool. But.." She said trailing off. She saw Finn raise an eyebrow at her.

"But?" He asked.

"But, a lot of the kids think I get special treatment just because he's my father. It's hard, you know? I have to work twice as hard as everyone else in Spanish, just to keep up my GPA." Rachel confided. Finn nodded, and silence filled the air. All that was heard in the crisp air was the sound of crickets, rubbing their legs together, making a symphony of sounds.

"So.." They both said in unison. They both shared a laugh before Finn stood up, and offered her his hand. Rachel took it, and he pulled the girl up to her feet.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You should probably go soon, your dad might kill me." Finn said, "Or flunk me in Spanish" He joked, causing Rachel to laugh.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said. Finn offered her his arm, and she looped hers around his, again, confused.

"I'll walk you...to your...door?" He said, awkwardly. He led her a few steps, until they were in front of the door, Rachel's back facing it, as she was facing Finn.

"Any chance we can go out again?" Finn asked, catching Rachel by surprise.

"What?" She asked, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"I want you to be my girlfriend." He stated, causing Rachel to go into even more shock.

"_What _?" She breathed. Finn then waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hello, Earth to Rachel? It's not that hard of a question. Yes or No?"

"Um. Finn, I want to, I really do. But it's just..." Rachel started. "And I like you, I do. But it's just.. you know! It's just..." Rachel rambled.

"Just what?" Finn asked, cutting her off.

"We'll both get a really hard time...And I don't want you to get hurt.." She told him sadly. She was again surprised, when Finn's thumb started stroking her cheek, as his head leaned in, near hers, and he enveloped her in a one-armed hug. "No one has to know" He whispered in her ear. His hot breath tickling her, and she shivered and blushed.

"Finn..." Rachel started.

"What's the problem, Rachel?" Finn said. "You said yourself you want to, and that you _like _me! No one should stop you from doing what you want to do! You can't spend your whole life, caring about what people think."

"You'll get major damage from the football team" She told him. She knew they'd go after him. Most of the team were hitting on her daily, how would they react if they find out she's dating Finn?

"Then we can keep it a secret, for now" Finn stated. "Let's just try it out. What do you think?"

"I think..." Rachel started, pulling a thinking face while stroking her chin. "I think...I think that I have a new boyfriend" She said, softly, while flashing him a small smile.

"Cool" Finn breathed.

"Uh.." Rachel hesitated, swaying front and back as if she was about to do something.

"What?" Finn asked. Rachel's face turned crimson, and she started to stutter.

"N-n-nothing" Rachel fumbled.

"Okay.." Finn laughed, causing Rachel to sigh.

"Goodnight, Finn." Rachel said.

"Goodnight, girlfriend." Finn said. Rachel smiled at the name, and inhaled a deep breath, trying to muster some courage. She quickly leaned in and pressed her lips against his cheek. She lingered for a minute, before pulling back, smiling at him and went inside her house. When he saw the door close, he let out a breath, and felt the ends of his mouth turn up. He touched his cheek with his finger tips before remembering the time. He started to sprint home, hoping to catch his uncle asleep.

Finn crept into his house, careful not to make any noises. Unfortunately, he didn't need to. When he closed the door behind him, he saw his uncle standing right behind him, looking furious and drunk.

"Why the hell are you home so late?" His deep voice boomed, slightly slurring on the words.

"I was out." was Finn's reply.

"_Where _were you?" Finn's uncle asked him harshly.

"None of your business, _Mark_" Finn snarled at his uncle. Mark squinted his eyes, took a swig of the bottle of whiskey he had in his hand, stood right in front of Finn's face, and slammed the glass bottle against the door, right beside Finn's head. Finn flinched and instinctively cover his face, to protect himself from any glass.

"You're an ungrateful piece of trash. You'll never get out of this god forsaken town." Mark said, before throwing a punch at Finn. He managed to hit his eye. He then aimed for another one, this time, busting his lip. Finn scowled, and wiped the blood spurting from his broken lip onto the back of his hand.

"Tell me now!" screamed his uncle before toppling over and passing out completely

Finn seizing this opportunity ran up to his bedroom, and slammed the door shut. He heaved a sigh. His room was the only place he felt safe. Wait, no. _'I also feel safe with Rachel' _He thought. He locked it, before he turned to his bed, and went to reach under it. From there he pulled out a small baggie. He grabbed some thin paper and poor an amount onto it, before rolling it up and lighting it. As he puffed it out of his nose and mouth, he sighed sitting down on his bed.

Life was rough but he knew he could always count on his weed to help him cheer up and relax. Lying down, he thought about the day's events and couldn't help but slightly smile every time Rachel popped up into his mind. _'This girl is changing me.' _he thought, before finishing off his joint, and laying down to go sleep.

* * *

_So...what'd you think? Orignally, there was going to be two kisses, but I thought that we should make it more special and meaningful. So we cut it out and ended up putting in a kiss on the cheek instead. I find nervous Rachel hilarious, for some reason :S I guess it's just me?_

_So, guys, if you want us to get inspired to ditch our school work, and write instead, then please, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! :D You're all awesome for sticking with the story, by the way :D_

_:) xxx 33_

_M & A._


	10. Chapter 10

_This chapter took a while to write! But we hope you'll like it! _

_Who else though 'Auditions' was awesome? I know I did! And, it's just the beginning! I'm SO excited for Britney/Brittany. I've heard all of the song, and they sound amazing! My fave's are Toxic and Baby one more time! Kinda sad that they didn't cover Crazy (my fave Britney song, of ALL TIME :D) But it's alright, these songs definately make up for it!_

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

* * *

Monday morning rolled around, and Finn agreed to meet Rachel early after early-morning cheer practice, right before the football players took the field. He groggily got out of bed and went to preform his morning routine. When he was done, he ate some cereal and jogged out the door.

At school, he waited under the bleachers for Rachel to finish. As he waited, he looked at the graffiti. Mostly, there was those silly 'Someone was here' markings, but a few seemed to catch his eye. He read some graphic descriptions of what some people would do to get Rachel alone, and there were some inappropriate drawings of her. _'I'll come back and fix that later' _Finn thought, just when Rachel ran over to him in her Cheerio's outfit with her hair pulled back into a tight pony tail, and she hesitantly threw her arms around Finn's neck. Finn stood there awkwardly for a moment, just as he had when she hugged him at the camp, before allowing himself to wrap his arms around her.

"Hey" He said.

"Hey to you too-" Rachel said, pulling away from the hug, and stopping her sentence when she saw his face. She saw yet another black eye accompaning a bruised lip, and she gasped.

"Finn, what happened?" She asked softly, gently running her thumb over his lip. She abruptly pulled away when she saw him wince.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing." Finn told her, shrugging it off. Rachel looked Finn square in the eye.

"Finn, it's _not _nothing! Seriously, it's awful seeing you hurt like this!" Rachel told him.

"Rachel, please. It _was_ nothing. Can we please drop the subject? How was cheer practice?" He asked, indicating he wanted to talk about_ anything _else.

"It was Karofsky and Azimio, wasn't it?" Rachel interrogated. "It was them! They saw us on Saturday, didn't they? They saw us, and went after you! Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, Finn! I'll set them straight!" Rachel decided, spinning around, she headed back to the football field.

"Rachel, no!" Finn called after her, but was too late, as she had already disrupted the practice and was yelling at Karofsky and Azimio in front of the whole team.

Rachel stormed up to the football field, and yelled for the two guys who caused her man pain.

"Karofsky! Azimio!" She called. The team all stopped and stared as the two made their way for the petit head cheerleader.

"What's up, Rachel? Finally decided to take us up on our threesome offer?" Karofsky asked smirking, wiggling his eyebrows. The smirk was quickly wiped off his face when he saw the glare he was receiving from Rachel Berry.

"What'd we do now?" Azimio asked, aggrivated.

"Don't play dumb. You both know what you did, and I want this to _stop!_" Rachel exclaimed, taking a step closer. "This is _my _school. I could have you two on the bottom of the food chain before first period lets out. So you do as I say, got it?" Rachel threatened, and the two nodded, before Azimio snorted.

"Not like we can get lower than that Hudson freak! He's the biggest Lima Loser this town has ever seen!" He laughed, Karofsky joined him.

"Shut. _Up._" Rachel snarled. She then looked on both sides of her, seeing all of the football players staring at the trio, so she pulled them to the side. "If I see you picking on that poor boy again, so help me _God_. I will hurt you. It's not enough that he gets made fun of for being different than the rest of you _losers_, but you have to beat him up, too?" Rachel growled.

"Now, tell me, what did he ever do to you?" She asked, snarling at them. When she received no answer, she decided it was time to end this little discussion and go back to Finn. "Exactly. So again, I repeat, if I see you picking on, or beating up, _especially _beating up, Finn Hudson, then I will personally find a way to ruin your life psycologically, emotionally and physically. Understand me?" She asked harshly. When they nodded, Rachel's scowl turned into a sweet smile. "Have fun in football practice, boys!" She yelled, before turning and starting to run back to where Finn was, before she was interrupted by a voice.

"My, my! That was very well done. The fear on their faces, wow. Just wow. You sure know to handle even the toughest looking of boys, don't you? And for one so tiny. That is a job well done, I applaud you." said the voice. Rachel stopped and looked at him. He had brown curly hair and smug smirk that made Rachel want to run into a wall repeatedly.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Jesse St. James, at your service." The boy said, bowing at her. Rachel sent him a weird look. "And you are?" He asked, offering her his hand to shake.

"Rachel Berry." She replied simply, shaking his hand for a quick second before pulling away. "Um, I have to go back to my b- ah, my friend. My close friend. Goodbye." Rachel said, before running away. Jesse had a smirk on his face and certain gleam in his eyes. He opened the notebook he had in his hand, and took out a pen before scribbling something down in it. _Next Love Interest: Rachel Berry_.

"You're my target, Rachel Berry." Jesse said. Smirking, he closed his book, put it back under his arm and shoved his fists into his pockets, walking away whistling.

When Rachel finally came back to Finn, he had his eyebrows raised.

"Who was that?" He asked hastily as soon as she stopped running. Rachel gave him a questioning look.

"Some kid." She said simply.

"And what did he say to you?" Finn asked. Rachel shrugged.

"He congradulated me on the 'job well done' I did, telling off those jerks. And he introduced himself." Rachel said nonchalantly, not caring about that piece of information.

"That's all?" He questioned. Rachel put her hands on his arms.

"That's all" She reassured him, while looking into his eyes, smiling. Finn heaved a sigh of relief. _'Jealousy?' _He thought. _'Nah'_

"Anyway, change of subject, Azimio and Karofsky shouldn't be bothering you anymore." She said, her voice filling with disdain as she said the bullies' names. Finn nodded.

"So, how was cheer practice?" He asked, changing the subject. He watched Rachel's face light up and fall as she rambled on about how she did a _perfect _backflip, yet Sue Sylvester told her she looked like a pregnant otter.

"Then she told me I looked like a pregnant otter! Like, really?" She exclaimed, heaving a breath and pouted. Finn rubbed her arm, trying to reassure her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you looked great." He told her, causing her to beam.

"Thank you" Rachel thanked him for the compliment, causing Finn to chuckle.

"You really gotta stop thanking me" He told her.

"Why? I like thanking you. And my parents raised me with manners!" She declared proudly.

"It makes me feel...I don't know, weird!" He exlcaimed. Rachel frowned.

"Don't." She said simply. "You shouldn't feel weird, getting thanked is apart of life! It's as natural as breathing!" Finn gave her a strange look. "Okay, so that sounds weird! Whatever. Come on, we should head to our lockers before the bell rings." Rachel said, dragging him out from the bleachers, only to push him back in a couple seconds later.

"What?" He asked, confused when she brought him back in.

"...Nevermind" She said, turning back around again, so that her back was facing Finn.

"Come on, Finn" Rachel said as she walked out from under the bleachers, and headed into the school, closely followed by Finn. Rachel looked both ways in the hallway before grabbing his hand and dragging him into the same bathroom that they were in when he got slushied. She found the same latter and sat him down. She then sat down on his lap, just as she had done last time, and proceeded to take out her make-up bag. She searched through it for her foundation, and triumphantly held it up when she found it. She opened it, dabbed some of it on her index finger and started to gently apply it to his eye.

"You know, Finn, you should really defend yourself." She told him, with a sad tone in her voice.

"Yeah. Right." Finn scoffed. Rachel paused, temoporarily not applying it, and raised her eyebrows as she frowned.

"Why not?" She sadly asked. Finn sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn't Karofsky and Azimio this time. It was his uncle. But he doesn't want to tell her that.

"It's just those to beating on me now, but if I fight back?" Finn started, "I'm a lot stronger than them, Rachel. But...if I fight back, they'll get the whole football team after me." Rachel looked shocked. She was more shocked that she hadn't thought of it first.

"...You're right, Finn" She whispered. "But they shouldn't be bothering you again, anyway. If they do, let me know" She said smiling. Finn chuckled.

"I'm gonna have my girlfriend fight my battles now, am I?" He joked.

"I'm stronger than I look, you know!" Rachel exclaimed, playfully slapping his chest.

"I know." Finn said, flashing a tiny smile, which caused Rachel to beam at him, before resuming the application of foundation. When she finished up, she got up, washed her hands, sat back down on Finn's lap, and pulled out a small tube of vaseline. She squeezed it, and a tiny amount came out. She wiped it on her index finger and started to rub it on Finn's bottom lip. She bit her lip, hoping that the blush on her cheeks were going unnoticed by Finn, as her finger made contact with his lip. Finn's lip parter as he silently intook a breath, staring at Rachel. He never knew anyone who cared about him this much, after his parents passed. When Rachel finished, she didn't move her finger like she knew she should, she just let it linger.

"Good as new" She said. Rachel inhaled a deep breath, and leaned forward, pressing a gently kiss to his forehead, before she got up, washed her hands and grabbed Finn's hand, helping him up. No one said a thing. They feared they would ruin the moment, or make it even more awkward than it already was. They both acknowledged the other, before leaving and heading off in the direction of their respective lockers.

First period was dragging along slowly, and Rachel was literally twitching as she sat impatiently at her desk, groaning as the teacher rambled on about how they will use math in everyday life, while she was waiting until she could see Finn again. _'Ugh! When is this class ending!'_ She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. Four minutes had gone by since she had last checked._ 'I don't know why I feel this way'_ she thought. '_Why do I want to see him so badly? I've been with other boys before, but none of them have made me feel this way before.'_

Rachel had completely lost rack of time, and before she knew it the bell had rung signaling the end of class. She hurriedly shoved everything into her bag, and sprinted to Spanish class, where she knew Finn would be.

Walking in, Rachel scanned the classroom for Finn, and frowned slightly as she realized he hadn't arrived yet. She sat down and took out her books. Just as she glanced towards the door, she saw Finn walk in. Their eyes met and she gave him a warm genuine smile. Finn smiled back a little, and walked to his usual seat by the window. Rachel turned in her seat and sighed as she smiled.

"Alright class," started Mr. Schuester as the last few people came in and took their seats. That was when Rachel noticed a boy standing rather awkwardly near Mr. Schuester. He was wearing a red shirt with black baggy pants. He glanced up and his eyes met with hers. That was when realization hit her. She knew this boy! It was that Jesse kid who introduced himself to her earlier. _'He's kinda creepy' _She thought_. 'He keeps staring at me'_. Rachel looked back up, and sure enough, he _was_ staring at her, smiling.

"We have a new student today. His name is Jesse St. James, and he transferred here from Carmel High." Mr. Schuester informed the students, and heard many murmers throughout the class room.

"Please make him feel welcome." Mr. Schue said, as he scanned the class looking for an empty seat. He saw the only one was beside Rachel. He turned to the boy.

"Jesse, please take the seat beside Rachel. Rachel, raise your hand so Jesse knows who you are." He said. Rachel slowly raised her hand, and when Jesse sat down next to her, she put it back down.

"Alright, since Jesse's new here, I was hoping someone would volunteer to show him around. Anyone offering?" Mr. Schuester asked, and half a dozen girls raised their hands, hoping to get some alone time with the good-looking new student.

"Wow, we've got some eager, polite students today!" Mr. Schuester exclaimed. "Alright, since I want to be fair, Jesse, why don't you pick?" He told him. Jesse's eyes scanned the room, even though he had already made his choice.

"Mr. Schuester, if she doesn't mind, could Rachel show me around?" Jesse asked in a sickeningly sweet, polite voice. Mr. Schue nodded before turning to his daughter.

"Rachel, would you mind showing Jesse around?" He asked.

"I-uh-" Rachel started but was interrupted. "Great! Thank you, Rachel. Alright, class, let's get started!" Mr. Schuester said quickly changing the subject. Over half of the class went by, before Mr. Schuester introduced a new project to the students.

"Alright, guys. I'm going to partner you up, and you and your partner will, together, write an essay, entirely in Spanish, about a Spanish-speaking country." Mr. Schue told them. "The partners will be the person to your right." He said. Rachel then looked to her right and inwardly groaned. Her partner was Jesse. _'I wish it was Finn' _She thought. _'Then I would get to spend more time with him and get to know him better'_ She sighed.

Rachel turned her head to quickly steal a glance at her new boyfriend. She noticed that he was partnered with Kurt Hummel. Rachel didn't know the boy very well, personally, but she did know that he was gay. No, not gay as in the new slang term that teenagers use for 'stupid'; but as in homosexual. Rachel frowned. She felt bad for Kurt, everyone practically knew he was gay, but he didn't come out. He was probably too shy, or too scared. After all, this _was _Lima. Not too many _different_ people around here. Not that she minded. Rachel liked different people. That's why Finn caught her attention. She smiled as she thought of Finn, but quickly went back to Kurt's situation. _'Maybe, I'll take him to meet Uncle Hiram and Leroy Berry' _She thought.

She turned her attention back to the handout that she was given, with the guidelines for the project. She once again sighed, before turning to Jesse. When she looked at him, she saw he was already intently staring at her, and he was creeping her out...again.

"Jesse." She called harshly, waving a hand over his face. She had no intention of slacking on this project. After all, she had to keep up her 4.0 grade-point average. And she had to work _extra _hard in this class, just because her dad taught it and because the class would complain if she was marked to the same level as them. They'd think he was just_ handing _her the grade. _'Yeah, right. Dad's just gonna hand me out an A. He hands out grades to most of the class'_. She internally complained.

"I just want you to know that I expect you to do your share of the work. No slacking off, I am an A student and I have every intention of keeping it that way. Are we clear?" She asked.

"But, of course, Mes Chere." Jesse replied, trying to be charming. It didn't fly too well with Rachel. She just squinted her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"First of all, we're in Spanish class. Second, no funny business!" She whispered darkly. Jesse just nodded his head and replied with "Yes Ma'am.". Rachel looked back over at Finn, who looked like he was put in a very awkward position, before turning back to her partner and discussing the details of the project.

"Okay, so we're going to do Colombia." Rachel said.

"So how about going to my house to do the project?" Jesse asked, suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows. Rachel squinted her eyes at him

"I thought we already established that there would be _no funny business_!" She hissed. Jesse just shrugged.

"You know you want me" He told her, winking, while Rachel made a disgusted face.

"No...Just no." Rachel said, crinkling her nose. Jesse opened his mouth, about to speak, when the bell, indicating lunch rang. Rachel sighed in relief, grabbed her stuff and ran out of the classroom, immediately forgetting that she was supposed to show Jesse around. She walked up to her locker, threw her books in, taking out the ones she needed for 3rd and 4th period, then walked to the cafeteria. She found the table full of Cheerios, sat down and immediately started chatting.

"Hey, Rachel" said a voice, causing all of the cheerleaders to turn around. There stood Jesse, with his signature smirk on his face.

"Oh...It's just you, Jesse" Rachel said, unenthusiastically. She turned to face her cheerleading friends, who immediately gave her a certain look. That look meant, 'He's cute. Go for him'. Rachel just shook her head at them.

"So, is my guide going to show me around?" Jesse asked. Rachel heard the Cheerios whispering to go, so she rolled her eyes, stood up and grabbed her stuff, quickly walking past Jesse.

"You better keep up if you want a tour!" Rachel called over her shoulder as she stalked out of the cafeteria.

"And that's the gym, and this," Rachel said, pointing to a room as she walked passed it, "This is the choir room. Hasn't been used in awhile." She told him.

"There's no Glee club at this school?" Jesse asked. Rachel shook her head.

"There was, until Sandy Ryerson got fired, and a restraining order for caressing a male student last April. He's not allowed to come with 50 feet of any William McKinley student, while in school. There's really no ban against coming near them outside of school. This _is _a small town" She noted. "Come on, I'll show you the football field and then we're done here." She said, walking out of the building.

"This is the last stop of the tour, thank goodness" She said, as they walked onto the field. "This is where most people in Lima come to support the WM High Titans, as they lose every game." She pointed out.

"Okay...so, I guess we're done here?" She asked.

"Who's that guy?" Jesse asked, pointing to a guy sitting on the bleachers, alone. Rachel looked up, and immediately brightened up.

"That's Finn... Finn Hudson." She said. "Why?"

"He keeps staring at us." Jesse said, as he uncomfortably shrugged.

"Oh, really?" Rachel asked. Jesse nodded. "Well then. I'll go ask him why, and you can go back inside. Tour's done, see you in Spanish tomorrow." She said, as she began to walk towards the bleachers. Jesse had a confused look on his face, before he shrugged and walked back inside.

"Hey, Finn" Rachel said softly, as she neared him.

"Hey" He replied softly. Rachel raised her eyebrow, before sitting down beside him, and put a hand on his knee.

"What's up, Finn?" She asked worriedly.

"Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine" He said, waving it off. But Rachel didn't seem to buy it.

"Uh huh. Seriously, Finn. Tell me." She pestered.

"Nothing, Rachel." He told her. " Come on, you should start heading to class before the bell rings" Finn said. Rachel nodded.

"You going to go in soon?" She asked him as she stood up.

"Sure." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. Rachel nodded, and turned her back, about to leave, when Finn called her back.

"Rachel!" He called. She immediately turned around.

"We need to go on another date sometime soon" He said, causing her to smile. She nodded.

"Friday. My house?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Sure" Finn said. "Now, get outta here, someone's going to see us together" He joked. Rachel giggled before waving and running down. Finn watched her as she quickly descended the bleachers. He sighed, and scrimmaged through his backpack, to find his joint and tiny bottle of whiskey. He gulped down the bottle, and lit up the marijuana, taking a puff. Finn would never admit it, but he did feel a tiny pang of jealousy when he saw Rachel with that Jessica kid. _'What kind of parent names their boy Jessica?' _He thought, scoffing. He took another puff, before leaning against the cold metal.

"Hey, Rachel!" Jesse called as he ran up to her. She looked away from her locker and frowned.

"What do you want, Jesse?" She asked.

"We should go out sometime" He said, catching Rachel off guard.

"What?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I asked around about you. And you're not currently seeing someone, so why not go out with me? I mean, look at me, I'm hot, you're hot, we'd make some pretty hot babies together!"

"Jesse, I'm only 17," Rachel said, throwing him a disgusted look. "I'm not going to have babies with you, or anyone else for that matter! Not at this age."

"Fine, I can wait!" He declared.

"Don't" She said simply.

"Fine, we don't have to have kids right now. Just go out with me!"

"I'm sorry, Jesse. But I think this 'relationship' that we have should just be kept platonic." Rachel told him. Jesse frowned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Why?" He asked. "You're not dating anyone, so why won't you go out with me? Rachel, I'm totally _smokin'_."

"You're just not my type."

"Fine. But, mark my words, Rachel Berry. You _will _come crawling back to me one day, I swear on it." He said darkly.

"Okay! Have fun with that!" Rachel chirped. Jesse scoffed, turned around and stomped off, and Rachel went back to sorting through her locker. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and groaned, thinking it was Jesse again.

"Ugh! Jesse, I told you! You're not my type!" She exclaimed as she turned around. "Finn!" She said when she noticed it was him, not Jesse.

"Sup?" He asked, and leaned against the lockers. "What was _he _doing here?"

"You were spying on me?" She asked, with an amused grin.

"Gotta make sure my girl's okay." Finn replied shrugging. "Now answer the question."

"H-he asked me out" Rachel told him.

"And you said...?" Finn asked, slightly annoyed.

"I said no." She said, as she closed her locker door.

"Good" He said, with a small smug smile on his face.

"It's not like I'm going to go out with him when I'm _dating _someone" Rachel whispered. Finn nodded.

"You better get going, Rach. I saw your dad leaving the building, he's probably waiting for you by his car." Finn told her.

"Rach...?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrows, amused.

"Well if we're going to be..._dating_" He whispered. "I might as well start acting like a proper boyfriend. I can't call you Rachel _all _the time. Well, I can, but...but, ugh, this sounded so much better in my head" He groaned, causing Rachel to laugh.

"It's okay. I think it's cute" She said, smiling.

"Cool. I'll text you tonight." Finn said, before walking away, leaving Rachel in the hall by herself. _'Rach...'_ She thought. _'It really is a cute name' _She thought, sighing, before walking out to her dad's car.

Several hours later, Finn didn't text her, so Rachel decided to just go to bed, when she heard her phone buzz. Assuming it was one of the Cheerios, football players, or Jacob, she groaned, but nonetheless, flipped it open to find a text message.

_'That Jessica kid still bugs me. Be careful around him.'_ the text read. What was surprising, though, was that the text message was from _Finn_.

_'Who's Jessica?'_ She thought. _'Oh! He means Jesse!' _Rachel thought, when realization hit her.

_'Trust me, I don't want to be around him. I, however, am stuck with him for this Spanish project.' _She texted back, and let her head hit the pillow, as she pulled the covers over her, phone still in hand, waiting, hoping for Finn to reply.

_'I still don't trust him though. If you didn't have to work with him for the project, I'd tell you to stay away from him, but I don't want to be that overly controlling boyfriend.'_ was Finn's reply. Rachel started rapidly texting on her phone.

_'Is that why you looked upset today?'_

_'…...I wasn't upset. It's just not cool that he's going after another dude's girl, that's all.'_ Rachel smiled at this. _'He called me his girl...again...' _She thought, letting out a content sigh.

_'You've got nothing to worry about, Finn, rest assured. But I've got to go to sleep now, I'm tired. I'll see you in class tomorrow?'_

_'Sweet dreams, Rach.' _Was the last text she received that night, before replying _' Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite._' to him.

* * *

_Were you all expecting them to kiss in this chapter? It seemed like they were about to, multiple times! I think Rachel really wants to kiss him ;) But don't worry, it WILL be coming in the future chapters! We just don't know which one yet... _

_The Shelby/ Emma fight is in the next chapter! Yay! _

_Please review, guys! Let's try to get to... 80? This chapter? PRETTY PLEASE! :D_

_:) xxx 3 3_

_M & A._


	11. Chapter 11

_Gah, well, it's finally up! Just wanted to thank you all for the reviews! They inspire us to write! Anyway, the fight scene happens this chapter! Yay! And a lot of information for future chapters is given out, so enjoy!_

_A lot of you may be wondering why I re-posted this chapter. Well, it's because I added somethings that I completely forgot about, that enhance the story! _

_And, by the way, for all of those who read my other stories, all but **Where is your boy tonight** and this story will be on hiatus, mostly because I don't really have time to work on those, due to school, and I don't have inspiration for those. As soon as I finish these two stories, I will begin to write those again! And if you haven't read it, read **Where is your boy tonight**. I am very proud of that story, as well as this one, and another chapter will be added to that very soon._

_Also, THANK YOU guys for all of the reviews! They truly make us feel like you care about our story, which makes us happy. So PLEASE, keep reviewing! Send in some suggestions that you'd like to see in the story, we have most of it planned out, but we could always try to make it work! We are anticipating hitting 100 reviews, we hope it happens soon! :)_

_**Disclaimer: We don't own Glee.**_

_**

* * *

**_"Shel, don't do it. Please" Will pleaded.

"I have to, Will. This is getting totally out of hand, and since you won't do anything, I have to." said Shelby, determinedly. Will sighed.

"There really is no changing your mind, is there?" He asked, defeated.

"Nope" Shelby said with a smirk.

"Please don't do anything that will get you in trouble"

"Don't worry. I'm just going to talk to her." Shelby said. And Will did _not _believe that the only thing that would happen was some light-hearted conversation. But he knew better than to get in the way of his wife when she had her mind set on something, so he just sighed and kissed her cheek, before heading out to the car and drove off to work.

After school, Shelby stalked through the halls of William McKinley High, searching for the councilor's office. She knew that it was about time she had a talk with Emma, especially after what her daughter had told her. And if she doesn't happen to listen to her 'suggestion', well, Shelby will just have to teach her a lesson. When she finally reached the room she was looking for, she knocked on the door.

"Come in" She heard a feminine voice call. She slowly turned the door nob and entered.

"Emma Pillsbury?" Shelby asked. Emma nodded

"Yes. Who are you?"

"Shelby Berry, Will Schuester's _wife_" Shelby said, emphasizing 'wife'. "Anyway, I came here with a purpose. A very reliable source told me that you've been throwing yourself at my husband."

"N-no" Emma stuttered. "It's actually the other way around." At this, Shelby raised her eyebrow, giving her a disbelieving look.

"Oh, really? And why would _my _husband be throwing himself at _you_?"

"Because he loves me!" Emma declared.

"Oh, honey. You are delusional. And I'm going to need this to stop. Now. I'm getting sick and tired of hearing about your insane attempts to get Will. He's mine, so back off." Shelby snarled.

"Clearly you're the one that's delusional. Every guy loves a little fling on the side, and one day, he'll leave you, and come running to me." Emma said as she stood up from her desk.

"Listen you little ginger tramp, you're really starting to get on my last nerve." Shelby hissed,

"But no! Will loves me! Not you! ME! I just know it!" Emma was starting to go hysterical.

"Alright bitch, I have had it. We are going to end this right here, right now." Shelby narrowed her eyes. Emma flung herself at Shelby, who shrieked from surprise and pushed her to the floor. Shelby kicked her shoes off, and sat on Emma's abdomen giving her an icy glare.

"You are going _down_, bitch!" she shrieked before going to pull out some of Emma's hair. Emma saw this coming and flipped over so that now she was the one on top of Shelby.

"Think again!" she said with a menacing laugh. They both rolled back and forth on the floor, clawing,

scratching, pulling at each others hair, and screaming profanities. For a split second they broke apart, each rolling to opposite sides of the rooms, standing up, panting and glaring evilly at each other.

Shelby let out an ear piercing scream as she dived at Emma, who ducked just in time before she could be hit in the head with a chair.

"You are going to die, BITCH!" yelled Emma, as she tried to take her swing at Shelby who merely ducked with a smirk on her face.

"Oh we'll just see about that." she said with a devilish smile. Emma growled and lunged forward at her, but Shelby was too quick. She dodged the attack and jumped on her. Shelby grabbed Emma by her hair and started to repeatedly hammer her head to the floor, while she laughed maniacally. Emma let out a scream and flipped them over, so that she was sitting on Shelby's stomach, while slapping her across the face with both hands, repeatedly.

"YOU'RE A BITCH! WILL IS MINE!" Emma called. Shelby grunted before using her strength to get out from under Emma, and start to claw at her face, receiving a pained scream in return.

"YOU ARE FUCKING DELUSIONAL, YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Shelby screamed at her. Emma quickly pushed Shelby off and stood up, followed by the brunette. Shelby picked up a spray from her desk and in frustration, sprayed Emma in the eyes with it. Emma screamed and grabbed the closest thing to her that she could hit Shelby with. Her chair. She lifted it up above her head and smashed it down. Shelby swiftly dodge it and swung her foot to Emma's, tripping her. Emma removed one of her sensible heels and threw it at Shelby. When it hit her leg, Shelby cried out in pain before she looked

back down at Emma on the floor, and saw red. Shelby dived for the redhead and they ended up tangled in each other, roughly biting their skin and pulling each other's hair.

"What the HELL is going on here?"a voice boomed. The figure walked into the destroyed office.

"Will!" They called in unison, as they stood up.

"You're lucky that it was me that found you two, otherwise Figgins would've called the police on you Shelb." Will said. Emma smirked at this. "And he would have fired you, crazy" He told Emma.

"I'm NOT crazy!" Emma exclaimed hysterically. "I just love you, Will! And I know you love me too! I just know it!" She laughed as she threw her arms around herself. Will gave her a frightened look, while Shelby looked as if she was going to attack again. Shelby started to lunge forward, but was stopped by her husband's arms which were now around her. She started squirming, but when realizing she was defeated, she gave him her best puppy dog face.

"Don't give me that look. Shel, as much as I love you, you can't go around attacking people I work with. You could get me fired, and you sent to jail. How the hell is Rachel going to feel with her mother in jail?" Will said sternly. Shelby looked ashamed, before smirking in Emma's direction.

"Hear that ginger dough girl? Rachel. Our _daughter_. Something you'll never have with Will." She said smirking. She didn't notice the two figures standing in the door way, watching the whole scene. "Or anyone else for that matter, because you are a total _PSYCHO_!" Shelby screamed. Emma screamed a battle cry and dived for Shelby, but was stopped by a pair of arms.

"Finn?" Mr. Schuester asked, surprised.

"What the hell?" Rachel asked, looking between the two women. "There is no reason for you two to resort to violence!" She yelled.

"I have to agree" Finn said, " Even though chick fights are totally hot, it was just inappropriate." He said, nodding his head.

"Suckin' up 'round the head cheerleader, Finn?" Emma laughed, causing his cheeks to tint pink.

"Emma, enough is enough." Will said. "First it started with you leaving me love notes in my Spanish class, then you followed me around" He started.

"You did _WHAT_?" Shelby growled.

"Then you stole my jacket and brought it with you everywhere, _sniffing _it"

" 'Kay, for real, Miss. Pillsbury, that's creepy." Finn said.

"And then you attack my wife! This has got to _end_. Get it through your head, I DO NOT LIKE YOU! Just leave us _alone_!" Will yelled, as he pulled Shelby by his side and turned to walk out.

"Your daughter was a mistake! We all know it! All of Lima knows it! That's why your careers ended on Broadway and you were forced to move back here in this cow town! Will, you could do so much better! Like me! We could have kids! Or cats! I love cats! WE SHOULD HAVE A CAT-KID" Emma cried, laughing hysterically. Finn looked scared, as he let her go, and walked back to Rachel. Will grew angry, and turned around.

"Never. Fucking. Say. That. Again" He growled. "Rachel was a blessing. We didn't need New York. We're happier here. I don't want to see you ever again" He scowled, before walking out with Shelby. Rachel looked like she was fighting off tears from Emma's little speech. Finn put his hand on the small of her back and lead her out, leaving Emma laughing hysterically, while hugging herself on the ground.

"You'll be mine, Will! We will have kids, and a house. He he, we could live in his house. You'll just have to kick out the two problems. I LOVE YOU WILL! I LOVE YOU!" She cried to herself, while rolling around. "I will have you one day, William Schuester. Your wife will leave you when she finds out what I'm going to do to you" Emma whispered to herself, evilly, before rolling on the floor once again, laughing loudly and hysterically.

Rachel fought off her tears as she and Finn neared the public park. She hadn't talked the whole walk there. _'What did they mean by Broadway and New York?' _She asked herself. _'What were they talking about? Am I really a...a mistake?' _She thought, as she let a few tears slip.

"Rach." Finn called from behind her. "Rach, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing" She sniffled as she used the back of her hand to wipe her tears. Finn spun her around so that she faced him. His face soften as he saw a tear escape her eye.

"Come on, Rach. Don't listen to what that crazy bitch had to say. She just wants your dad and meaningless words just come out of her mouth." He said soothingly, as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm, to try and calm her down. Rachel faked a smile.

"Yeah..." She said.

"Seriously" Finn told her.

"Yeah, I believe you" She told him. Finn didn't really believe this, so he did one thing that might cheer her up. He kissed her. Well, kissed her on the forehead. When he removed his lips from her forehead, she looked up at him with eyes wide, full of question.

"Don't be upset." He said softly. "I'd totally beat her up if she were a dude. No one messes with my girl" He said, causing her to beam. "Come on, let's get you home" Finn said, taking off his jacket, throwing it over her shoulders and walking on the path to her house. The long way.

After school, Puck was heading to his truck near the back field, when he saw a figure on the football bench. He noticed that the person's shoulders were shaking. Knowing that they were crying, Puck's conscience guilt-tripped him into going over. As he got closer, he noticed it was someone that he recognized.

"Q-Quinn?" Puck asked, shocked. There she was, Quinn Fabray, crying her eyes out, while sitting on the football bench. She finally noticed the mohawked boy standing in front of her and quickly dried her tears.

"Oh, hey, Puck" Quinn said, as she smiled. Puck knew she was faking. The smile didn't reach her eyes, which were red and puffy.

"You okay?" He asked sweetly.

"I'm fine." She replied with a fake laugh and smile plasted on her face.

"Seriously, Quinn, what's wrong?" He asked, unassured.

"Nothing, Puck. I'm fine. Run along, don't worry about me" She answered. Puck sighed. It was no use trying to get something out of this girl, she was obviously mindset on not telling him.

"Alright then. See ya 'round" He said, before turning around and starting to walk off.

"I got kicked off of the Cheerios." She called after him. Puck stopped in his tracks, turned around and slowly walked back to her. He crouched down in front of her and put his hands on her knees in a comforting, non-sleazy, totally un-like Puck way.

"Why?" He asked softly.

"I hurt my leg, remember?" She said and Puck nodded his head as the scene replayed over in his mind.

"It's only temporary, until my ankle heals. The doctor said I broke it in three places. Now I have to use crutches. _And_ I have to wear a cast! Do you know how many outfits go with a cast, Puck? Do you even _know_? Not many, Puck! Not many!" Quinn exclaimed, "He also said it could take up to three months or _more _to heal." She explained, as a few more tears found their way out of her eyes and down her cheeks. Puck then sat next to her, cupping her cheek and wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumbs.

"Don't cry" He whispered, stroking her cheek softly with his thumb. "Hey, I know what will make you feel better"

"What could possibly make me feel better?" Quinn asked as she sniffled.

"I'm taking you out for ice cream. Come on." He answered, standing up and holding his hand out to her.

"I'm not allowed to eat ice cream" She stated robotically.

"Why not?" Puck asked, confused.

"It'll make me gain weight! Then I'll _never _be able to get back on the Cheerios!" Quinn exclaimed.

"You won't gain any weight, Quinn! If you'd prefer, we'll get fro-yo" Puck told her, skeptically.

"It _would _make Miss Sylvester mad..." She said, thoughtfully. "I'm in!" She concluded, grinning, which, in return, caused Puck to reciprocate the gesture.

"Let's go" He said, and she grabbed his outstretched hand. He pulled her up, carefully, making sure not to put any pressure on her broken foot, then grabbed her crutches. He steadied her on them, putting his hand on the small of her back and patiently walked with her to his car. He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in.

"Thank you" She muttered, slightly flushed. Puck just smiled before gently closing the door, hoping in the driver's side and taking off for the nearest ice cream shop. When they arrived, he helped Quinn get seated in a booth before ordering two hot fudge vanilla sundaes and sat down across from her. They sat, eating in silence, before Puck noticed Quinn crying again when she finished her ice cream.

"Quinn, please, stop crying." He pleaded. "If anyone ever found out I said or even _thought _this, I'd be so dead, but since it's only us..." He started. "It pains me to see you hurt" He whispered. Quinn looked at him questioningly.

"Why would it matter to you?" She asked through hiccups.

"Because I..." _'Because I love you' _He thought. "Because, Quinn, I care about you." Puck said sincerely. Quinn bit her lip and nodded.

"C-can you take me home, please?" She asked hoarsely. _'You're being too sweet, Puck. I don't deserve this from you' _She thought to herself as they slid out of the booth. Puck helped her back into his truck and they drove off. When they got to Quinn's house, neither made a move to get out.

"I'm sorry." Quinn said sniffling.

"For what? There's nothing to be sorry for." Puck told her.

"I've been overly emotional today. It must've been incredibly annoying" She said. Puck shook his head.

"No, it wasn't. Nothing you could do would ever annoy me" He told her with honesty.

"It's just.." Quinn started hesitantly, " Cheerleading's all I really have. I don't know what I'd do, what I'd _be _without cheerleading. I've always been 'Quinn Fabray: The cheerleader." She explained. "I'm nothing without it".

"Hey..don't say that. You're so, so much more than that, Quinn. You're beautiful, smart, funny, amazingly talented..." Puck said trailing off, listing things that he thought were good qualities about Quinn. Quinn just stared at him in awe.

"Puck, but, you hardly know me..." She said. Puck shook his head.

"I know you enough to know that, behind your shell, you're an amazing, kind person." He said sincerly, taking her hand into his, and gently ran his thumb over it. Quinn stared up at him in amazement. _'No guy has ever been this nice to me_' She thought. _'Oh, what the hell.'_ She shrugged her shoulders before pulling him in for a soft kiss. When they pulled away, Puck had a very confused expression plastered on his face. He stood there like stone for a minute, before he went back in for another kiss, this time, it was filled with passion. Quinn pulled away, and stared into his eyes, hand on his cheek.

"Tell me again" She whispered, out of breath.

"You're amazing, and you did not gain any weight from that ice cream" He threw it, causing her to smile and kiss him again. They made out for another 20 minutes before Quinn stopped them.

"Why'd you stop?" Puck asked, as he inhaled a huge breath.

"Let's go upstairs" She told him, with a certain twinkle in her eyes.

"What?" Puck asked, eyes almost bulging out of his sockets.

"My parents won't be home until Monday" She breathed.

"A-are you sure? 'Cause we don't have to if you don't want to" Puck said hoarsely. Quinn nodded.

"I'm sure. Now let's go before I change my mind" She said grinning, pulling Puck back for another heated kiss.

At Rachel's house, She dragged Finn upstairs to her room and sat him down on her bed. She was starting to feel more and more comfortable around Finn as the days dragged on. They had been dating for two weeks, three days, 18 hours and 43 minutes. But really, who was counting? Every one of those days since Jesse had come to McKinley, he had been hitting on Rachel, which just kept pissing Finn off. He was going to tell her just how much he despised St. James.

He moved back against her headboard, layed down and motioned for her to follow suit. Rachel got up from her spot, and went to close the door, before laying down next to Finn. Finn then wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer to him, laying her head against his choice. She released a content sigh and allowed herself to relax. The same could not be said for Finn. His breaths became uneven and his heartbeat sped up. He sucked in a breath and started talking.

"Hey, Rach?" He whispered in her ear, which caused Rachel to tilt her head up and look at him right in the eyes.

"Yes, Finn?" She asked. She noticed him inhale a deep breath.

"I _really _hate that Jesse St. Jerk guy" He said Jesse's name with a tone of disdain.

"Hate's a strong word, Finn" She told him.

"Rachel, I _really_ dislike that Jesse St. Jerk guy" Finn said, once again, voice full of disdain.

"I know you do, Finn, I know you do" Rachel sighed as she patted his arm.

"No, like, seriously! These past two weeks he's done nothing but flirt with you! Do you know how...how _mortifying _it is to watch your girlfriend get hit on by some guy that uses way to much product in his hair?" He exclaimed.

"I didn't know you knew what mortifying mean't, Finn. I'm proud of you!" Rachel called, amused. Finn didn't share the emotion.

"Rachel, I'm being serious here! It's not cool that he gets to flirt with you openly, while I, your _boyfriend _gets to just sit there and watch! I can't do _anything _about it!" By now, Finn and Rachel had both sat up on the bed, staring at eachother. "Even during our date last Friday, he just kept _calling _and _texting _you! He wouldn't stop, no matter how many times you told him you were busy!"

"Finn, there's no reason to worry about Jesse. Sure, he may flirt with me, but I'm not dating _him_, am I?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"But-" Finn was cut off.

"I don't want to hear about any butts, Finn, I already have many creepy letters from one Jacob Ben Israel about my butt." Rachel said. Finn's facial expression changed from shock, to anger, to disgust, then back to anger.

"_WHAT?_" He whispered angrily. Rachel's eyes widened in shock.

"Oops. Wasn't going to tell you about that, but I guess it slipped out" She whispered, more to herself than to Finn.

"You weren't going to tell me that the creepy kid with the red hair that looks like a Jewish Cloud was writing you creepy letters? Like, love letters? Rachel, I`m your boyfriend! You _should_ be telling me stuff like this, so I can kick his ass!" Finn exclaimed. Rachel knew he was angry now. The tips of his ears were bright red, his eyebrows and forehead were scrunched up, and you could practically _feel _the steam that was coming off of him.

"Finn..." Rachel called out for him, sadly. "I'm sorry." She said. When he wouldn't say anything right away, it got her worried.

"No, Rachel. You knew I would've been pissed if you told me, that's why you didn't. But did it ever cross your mind that I'd be even more pissed if you _didn't _tell me? Apparently not, 'cause right now, I'm fucking _furious_." Finn growled. He stood up from her bed. "I don't mean to go all parental on you, but I _really _hope you think about what you've done. You knew, Rachel. You knew I would've been pissed! I thought we had this understanding of each other! But you still did it anyway." By now, Finn was walking with his back turned to her, heading for the door. Before he opened it, he stopped and turned around.

"By the way," He started, his face softening when he saw a few tears stream down Rachel's face. "The only reason I know the word 'mortifying' is because of you." He said.

"Y-you actually listened to all my pointless rambling?" Rachel choked out, shocked.

"I listen to every word you say" Finn whispered, before opening the door and walking out. But not before he passed Shelby on the way out of Rachel's room.

"Oh, hello, Finn! How are you dear?" Shelby asked cheerfully.

"I'm fine Mrs. Berry. How are you?" He asked hoarsely.

"I'm alright, Finn. Thank you for asking. You're not staying for dinner?" Shelby asked. She was the only one that knew that Finn and Rachel were dating. Not even her father knew. Rachel had told Finn she was waiting for the right time to tell him. Will doesn't take Rachel dating very lightly.

"I can't. I've got some things to take care of at home. I'll see you 'round Mrs. B" Finn said, nodding at her before walking down the stairs and out of the house. Shelby entered Rachel's room.

"Rachel, it's dinner time" Shelby called.

"I'm not hungry, Mom" Rachel said, sniffling and wiping her tears. Some may say she was over-reacting, but it was Rachel and Finn's first fight, and Rachel really cared about Finn. Of course it was going to make her emotional. Especially since she didn't know if they were broken up, or still together.

"Oh, Rachel" Shelby said, noticing her tears. She walked over to where Rachel was sitting on the bed, sat down next to her, wrapped her arms around her and rubbed Rachel's arm. "Honey, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing, Mom." She said. "I, uh, just remembered that on the walk home today, I saw a dead rabbit on the street" Rachel choked out.

"Honey, I know you love animals and all, but I know that's not true." Shelby stated disbelievingly.

"Can we please just not talk about it, Mom?" Rachel asked as she sniffled. She used the back of her hand to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but if you don't mind, I've got some homework to finish" Rachel said. Her mother just nodded, and walked out. A split second later, Shelby returned, peaking into the doorway.

"Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here" Shelby said to her daughter, who just nodded and flashed a small, sad smile.

* * *

_I hope you guys understand what Quinn mean't by 'going upstairs' Haha :P. Did you like it? There will be lots of Finchel coming up soon, and the REAL kiss will definatly happen very, very SOON! I promise you! PLEASE REVIEW! You guys make our day! AND it inspires us to write! So if you like the story, want us to update faster :D , or have any suggestions, anything you'd like to see in the story, please tell us in a review!_

_:) xxx 3 3_

_M & A._


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey Guys! The next chapter is here! And something in it might shock you :O. But anyway, sorry it's shorter than usual!_

_For those who read my story **Where Is Your Boy Tonight? **the next chapter will be up soon, sometime this week! SORRY FOR THE WAIT!_

_Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians :) And Happy Monday to everyone else! (or for some countries, Happy Tuesday!)_

**_Disclaimer: We do not own Glee_**

* * *

The next morning, Will was on his toes; on red alert as he walked through the school hallways. He was afraid of Emma, to be honest. She was very creepy, and he wanted to avoid her at all costs, _especially _after the previous day. Plus, he didn't want to deal with her today, he had woken up late this morning, and his wife had taken the car, so he had to walk. He stiffened when he saw the guidance councilor's office. He knew she would be in there. He just knew it. But there was no avoiding it, he _had_ to go past it to get to his Spanish room. He inhaled a deep breath and began to walk. He kept his eyes forward, hoping that if he didn't see her, she wouldn't see him. As he walked past, he noticed there was no shrill voice calling him, unlike Emma usually does when she sees him. He glances through the window, and saw Principal Figgins. He stopped in his tracks, retreated and entered the room.

"Figgins" He said as he waltzed in. The princial looked up from his position.

"Oh, hello William." He aknowledged. Will looked around the room and noticed that none of Miss Pillsbury's stuff was there.

"Where's Emma?" Will asked, confused.

"She came in this morning with her resignation letter, and left" was Figgins' simple reply.

"She _quit_?" Will asked, a hint of excitement, and contentment filled his voice.

"Yes, William. And I have to stay late to interview people for the position, but I also have to clean up around the school! I don't know what I am going to do!" He cried.

"Why don't you just get the janitors to clean up?" Will asked.

"Because, William, we are in a recession! We had to let go of the janitors last week!" Figgins explained.

"So you've been doing it for the past week?" Figgins nodded, before he smiled and had a devious look in his eyes.

"William..." He sang. Mr. Schuester put the pieces together. His smile and the way he said his name. He immediately began shaking his head.

"No! No no no no no no no no!" He called. "I can''t, Figgins!"

"And why not?" Figgins asked. He noticed that William was stumped, so he flashed a smug smile.

"Please, William? I could really use the help.." Figgins pleaded. Will sighed.

"Fine.

Finn grumbled, kicking a small rock as he walked, with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his baggy, ripped jeans. It was another day that he had to see Jesse flirt with Rachel, but this time, he didn't have Rachel to reassure him it was only one-sided. Were they even broken up? Finn hadn't even the slightest of idea. It was now around eight p.m, the sky was blackened and Finn was walking around the McKinley High football field. It always helped him calm down. He probably shouldn't be around here this late, but atleast Puck let him borrow his truck so he doesn't have to walk home at night.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It was hard not having Rachel to talk to; he had grown accustumed to her, and actually... He kinda _liked _spending time with her. She was so different than he thought she would be. Rachel's a lot deeper than the cliche head cheerleader. For one thing, she wasn't blonde, like you see in all those cheesy teen movies. And, when she trusts someone, _really_, _truly_ trusts someone, she stands behind them one hundred percent. She was loyal. _'God, I'm so stupid! How could've though otherwise? Stupid, stupid Finn!'_ He mentally cursed at himself before turning the opposite direction and headed towards the truck.

Finn found it incredibly difficult to see. It was pitch black, and he could barely make-out Puck's dark blue pick-up truck. He stopped in his tracks when he heard some voices.

"Emma, _stop it!_" Cried a voice. It sounded like he was in destress. Finn's eyes widened when he realized who the voice belonged to. _'Mr. Schue!'_ Finn picked up his pace and ran in the direction of the voice. He found where Mr. Schuester was, and images of shock and horror filled his vision. There was Mr. Schuester, on the cold, hard ground, being straddled by Miss. Pillsbury, who held a small electrical-looking device in her hand.

"Mr. Schue!" Finn called, causing the two adults to look over at him.

"Go away, Finn" growled Emma. Finn shook his head and immediately ran to the aid of his teacher. He wrapped his arms around Emma, and lifted her off of Mr. Schuester, who immediately scrambled to his feet.

"Mr. Schue, get out of here!" Finn yelled, as the redhead struggled in the boy's grasp.

"Finn, she's got a tazer!" Will called, but it was too late. He watched as his student was brought to the ground at the hand of a shocking device, while Emma grinned devilishly. Will quickly ran over to Finn and tried to lift him up. He shook him a bit, which helped the tazering wear off. They both stood on their feet. Finn went straight back to Emma, who automatically tried to tazer him again, but this time, Finn grabbed the tazer, and reciprocated the previous gesture. Emma fell to the ground, and the boys watched as she spazzed. They wasted no time running out of the area.

"To the truck!" Finn called as they started to head in the direction of the parked truck. They quickly got in and Finn drove off. When he got out of the school parking lot, he started to relax. They both did.

"Where to, Mr. Schue?" Finn asked, looking at the older man for a split second. Mr. Schuester looked down at his watch.

"Why don't you come over for dinner?" He asked.

"Uh, are you sure?" Mr. Schuester nodded.

"So Finn, you and Rachel seem to be becoming pretty close friends, huh? I always see you two togehter" Mr. Schue said, breaking the silence as they drove. Finn's hands tensed around the steering wheel as he heard his girlfriend's name. He felt his palms get sweaty and felt a lump in his throat. His girlfriend's dad was just asking him about their relationship, which he didn't know was more than a friendship, while Finn didn't know if they were still together because he's stupid and started a fight with her.

"Y-yeah" Finn said awkwardly. He sucked in a deep breath and nervously bit his bottom lip. He knew he should tell Mr. Schuester that he and Rachel were an item. He deserves to know, afterall, he _was_ Rachel's father. "?" Finn called nervously. Mr. Schuester turned and looked at the boy driving in question.

"Yes, Finn?" Finn gripped the steering wheel ard, and his knuckles turned white. He exhaled deeply.

"I'm dating your daughter" He uttered quickly and nervously. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his Spanish teacher shift in his seat and faced the road. Sensing that he wasn't going to talkj, Finn continued speaking. "Well, atleast I think we're still dating. We got into a pretty big arguement." He said, before mentally kicking himself. _'Stupid! You shouldn't have told him that!'_ He mentally cursed. A few minutes of silence passed, before Finn heard Mr. Schuester chuckling.

"I guess I shouldn't have made Jesse St. James her project partner then, huh?" Mr. Schue laughed.

"Wait...so you're...not...mad?" Finn asked, shocked. Mr. Schuester shook his head.

"Of course not! You're a good kid, Finn. I trust you with Rachel" He said. Finn's grip lessened on the steering wheel as he calmed down a little. "And besides," Mr. Schue continued, "I'd much rather it's you than one of those football playing jocks. They're no good." He noted. "So you're in the middle of an arguement, you say?" Finn nodded. "Well, that settles it. You're coming over and you're going to fix things with her!" Mr. Schuester declared happily. "You...do... want to fix things with her, right?"

"Yeah, I do" was Finn's soft, simple reply. Mr. Schuester chattered on for a few more minutes, before they pulled into the Berry-Schuester driveway. Finn shut off the engine and they both got out. Mr. Schuester opened the door and they walked inside.

"Honey, I'm home! And we have a guest!" Will called as soon as they entered the living room. Shelby walked out of the kitchen at the sound of her husband's voice.

"You're late." She said. "Oh, hello, Finn! How are you, dear?" She chirped. "Why the hell are you so late?" Shelby's attention turned back to Will.

"There was a little...situation that held me up" Will told her. He heard footsteps, and turned his head in time to see Rachel and Jesse walk down from the stairs. Rachel froze when she saw Finn.

"So, Rachel. We're meeting tomorrow to keep working on the project, right?" Jesse asked as he walked to the door. Finn turned his head in the opposite direction, looking at anything but them. _'It was a stupid idea coming here'_ He thought.

"Jesse, we've been working on it for _two weeks_! It's due on Monday. That gives us tomorrow, and the weekend to finish it, and I don't plan to spend the whole weekend with you working on it. We can just split up the remainder." Rachel told him, as she began to walk towards Jesse.

"But-" Jesse tried to protest, but was cut off by Rachel.

"I have other assignments and obligations, Jesse. I can't spend all of my time with you _trying _to work on this project, while you keep going off subject." She snapped. Jesse had a scowl on his face before he turned to the door.

"Goodnight, Rachel." He said monotonously, as he opened the door and walked out. Rachel stood there, with her back facing the door, staring at Finn's back, as her parents looked on between them. The room was overtaken by a deafening silence. Mr. Schuester clapped his hands together, breaking the silence.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved! Let's eat!" Will exclaimed.

"I should go. I need to get the truck back to Puck. I'll see you tomorrow in Spanish, Mr. Schue. Nice seeing you, Mrs. Berry." Finn said. Will made his way over to Finn before he left.

"I just wanted to thank you Finn, for earlier." Mr. Schue said, as he patted Finn's shoulder, while the girls looked confused.

"Anytime, Mr. Schue. Goodnight" Finn called as he spun around and treaded towards the door as Will proceeded to turn around and tell his daughter and wife about the previous situation he was in, and how Finn saved him. Rachel's eyes went wide. _'I have to go talk to him!' _She declared in her head.

"Go talk to him, honey" Shelby said. Rachel nodded sternly and ran out the door behind Finn. She saw that he was just about to get into the truck, so she sped up and stopped him. Finn looked shocked to see her there.

"I'm sorry." She quickly said. "You were right. I should've listened to you. Jesse's a perverted jerk, and I will _somehow _get him to back off. I really hate fighting, Finn. Can we just make up already?" She spat out. Finn stood there processing her words, before a small smile crept up on his lips. Rachel took it as a good sign and went for the kill. She stood on her tippy toes and did something she's wanted to do since the end of their first day. She kissed him. It was short, and sweet, and _totally _worth the almost-three-week wait. She pulled back and nervously bit her bottom lip, as she stared up at him with a questioning look, as if she was asking him if he was okay with it.

"So, I was right, huh?" Finn joked. Rachel grinned and playfully slapped his chest. He laughed and brought her in for a hug. "I don't like fighting" He whispered hoarsely, his breath visible in the cool night. Rachel nodded against his chest.

"Me neither." She replied. They stood there in that position, embracing, for a few minutes, before Finn pulled away.

"You should go back inside. It's getting kinda late." He said, nodding towards her house.

"Walk me home afterschool tomorrow?" She asked smiling, as she took a few steps away from him. Finn nodded with a small half-grin gracing the lips Rachel had kissed only just a few moments ago.

"Goodnight, Finn" She grinned before jogging away. Finn watched as she approached her house, waiting for her to get in safely before he drove away. As she reached the front door, she turned. "By the way, Finn. Thanks for helping my dad" She called, before walking through the door.

* * *

_Well, there's the long awaited kiss! Short and sweet, as it probably should be for their first one. Did you guys like it? Any suggestions on what you'd like to see in the future? Let us know in a REVIEW :D. (i.e. What should Shelby do about what Emma tried to do? Should Finn get in a fight with Jesse? When should Rachel tell everyone that she's dating Finn, and how?_


	13. Chapter 13

_Woo! Alright, next chapter! :) Thank you all so much for the reviews! We really appreciate them! It helps us improve our story, so please, keep reviewing!_

_This chapter is mostly Finchel-fluff. It's pretty feel like we owe you something for having to endure all the drama we put you (and Finchel) through! But never fret! There will be plenty more drama to come!_

**_Disclaimer: We don't own Glee._**

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During early Cheerio practice on Friday morning, Puck noticed Quinn sitting down all alone, watching the rest of her team. He made his way over and sat next to her. Both were completely silent, the only noise they could hear was the wind whipping against them, and the sound of Sue Sylvester yelling at one of the Cheerios, when their leg quivered. Knowing that Quinn wasn't going to speak anytime soon, Puck decided to break the silence.

"Quinn," Puck called, staring at her while she was staring in front of her.

"Hmm?" was her response.

"Quinn, I think we need to talk about what happened last week."

"No. We don't. It was nothing. It _mean't _nothing." She said monotonously. Puck's jaw dropped a bit in shock and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Quinn, what the hell? What are you talking about?" He harshly whispered.

"What I'm saying is, I don't think I can't do this, Puck." Quinn replied.

"What do you mean you can't do this?" asked Puck, his anger slowly rising in his voice. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"Puck, popularity is everything right now, and because I broke my ankle, I've been kicked off the Cheerios, and my popularity level has dropped. Majorly." recited Quinn as if she had been practicing this for years. "I don't mean to make you feel bad, but you're not the most popular guy at this school, dating you won't help me any."

"Quinn-"

"Puck, please don't make this any harder then it needs to be. Let's just act like nothing happened between us. Alright?" she said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Then what are you going to do now? Not dating me isn't going to suddenly bring back your popularity." said Puck. He realized that he was slowly losing this arguement. Any normal guy would have given up by now, but not Noah Puckerman. His mother always told him, _'Somethings are worth fighting for', _and Quinn Fabray was _definately_ worth fighting for.

"I know, that's why I have decided to date Sam. He's the Quarterback on the football team, and dating a football player would automatically bring back my popularity." Quinn said not at all fazed. As Puck registered those words, he felt his heart shatter. His eyes fell emotionless, and his expression changed to a blank one.

"You mean _Sam Evans, _the quarterback?" His voice held no emotion.

"Yes, that's him." said Quinn smiling. All it took was that _one _smile, from the youngest Fabray, to set off a flame in him. He had to stop her.

"_What?_ No, Quinn! You can't date him!" said Puck, his words filled with hurt and anger. He felt his blood boil as the name replayed in his mind.

"And why is that, exactly?" Quinn asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"W-we _slept _together." Puck said hoarsely. _'Calm down, dude. You're starting to sound like a chick. Control yourself.' _He told himself.

"It was a _mistake_, Puck. A one time thing that shouldn't have even happened, that won't _ever _happen again." Quinn hissed.

"Quinn, you can try to deny it all you want, but you know that's not true. You're just too scared to admit that you actually _felt _something. You have feelings for me, quit lying to yourself." Puck retorted. Quinn bit her lip to keep her from confirming what Puck had said. _'It's safer this way. It's a lot easier' _She reminded herself. _'But will it be worth it in the long run?' _Her conscience questioned her logic. She sighed, and refused to listen to the little voice in her head.

"Puck, I'm sorry, but this is how it's going to be. I think it'd be better if we don't speak of that night ever again. Goodbye." and with that, Quinn stood up and started to walk away, but was stopped when Puck grabbed her arm.

"Let go, Puck." She said sternly.

"Hell no, Quinn. I mean't it when I said I care about you. And I like you way too much to just hand you over to lady-lips without a fight." He growled.

"Don't call my boyfriend that" Quinn said. For some reason, when she referred to Sam as her boyfriend, she felt a bitter taste on her tongue.

"He can't be classified as a dude, he's too.." Puck started.

"Too _what_?" She asked.

"Too chick-like. I mean, his mouth is _huge_. I bet he could fit like, 3 tennis balls in that thing. His hair color looks totally fake, you could tell he dyed it!" Puck said.

"Oh, wow, Puckerman. Most guys don't notice things like that." Quinn barked.

"I'm not most guys" He said with a sharp edge to his voice.

"I know.."

"Quinn, do you think he'll ever care about you like I do? Do you think he'll treat you like I could? I may not be popular like he is, but I'm a much better man than him." Puck's voice softened.

"Puck, please, can we not do this?" Quinn asked hoarsely. It was obvious that she was trying to fight back tears. _'Yes, I know that you're so much better Puck, but you have to understand.' _She thought. Puck's grip on her arm tightened a bit. "Please, Noah. Let me go." Quinn called. She felt his hand let her go, and immediately missed the contact.

"That _did _mean something to you, Quinn. Even if you want to admit it or not." whispered Puck, before turning around and leaving Quinn to fall down back to where she was sitting, and cry softly to herself.

Rachel jogged up the bleachers to her friend. She sat down beside her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Quinn... Quinnie, what's wrong?" She asked softly. Quinn's head shot up, and she automatically started wiping her eyes.

"N-nothing, Rachel. I'm f-fine," Quinn lied. Rachel's hold only got tighter, as she squeezed her

shoulders.

"Quinn, I've been your bestfriend for _years_, I know when something upsets you," Rachel said. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I won't push you. But whenever you're ready, I'm here. If you want, you can just cry. We all need to cry every once in a while." She comforted. Quinn turned so that her face was on Rachel's shoulder, and she resumed crying.

"Thanks, Rachie. You always were a better friend to me than I was to you. I love you, R." Quinn wept. Rachel then used her hand to rub in a soothing manner against her friend's back.

"Love you too, Q."

In Spanish class, Mr. Schuester was currently teaching a lesson on verbs, when Rachel felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She stealthily took it out and whipped it open. She saw that she had a text message, and opened it.

_To Rachel: 'Hey R, we should go out today, what do you say? ' - From Finn. _Rachel smiled when she read the name and quickly began to respond.

_To Finn: 'I don't really feel like going out tonight. How 'bout we stay in and watch a movie. My house, 8 p.m? My parents won't be home, they're going on a date too, incase you're worried about my dad finding out that we're dating. '- From Rachel. _Once Rachel sent that, she looked over at Finn. She waited until he subtly opened his phone, and watched as his cheeks reddened. _'Oh Lord, I hope he didn't take that the wrong way. Oh, of course he did! He's a teenage boy!' _She thought.

"Oh, man!" She groaned, causing the attention of the classroom to turn to her.

"Is there something wrong, Rachel?" Her father asked her in the tone of voice he always used for her during class. His 'teacher' voice, as he'd like to call it.

"Uh, um, uh," Rachel blushed, fumbling over her words awkwardly, trying to think of something to cover up with. "Cramps" she replied, causing all the boys in the room, including her father/teacher to turn red, while the girls sympathetically 'Awed'. Mr. Schuester simply nodded, cleared his throat and returned to the lesson.

_To Rachel: 'Sure, sounds like fun :) ' - From Finn_ Rachel smiled at the last text before responding.

_To Finn:'Great! I'll order pizza! It'll be just like in those sappy teen love stories' – From Rachel. _Rachel texted. Unfortunately, she hadn't been quiet as stealthy, because Jesse leaned over and whispered "Who are you texting?"

"No one, Jesse. Leave me alone"

"Hey, hey, no need to get all defensive. It was just a question." He held his hands up in surrender.

"Well, Spanish class is no time to ask questions" She whispered harshly.

"Well, I have one more question for you, will you go out on a date with me tonight?" Jesse asked with a half-grin. _'That doesn't suit him. It's just not the same as when Finn does it. It doesn't have the same effect'_ She thought.

"As I said earlier, Spanish class is to be taken very seriously" and with that, Rachel shifted back into her seat, and kept her head held high in the air. Eventually, Jesse huffed and turned around, taking his focus off of her. Rachel smirked, and quickly brought out her phone to check if Finn had responded.

_To Rachel: 'When you think of it, we kinda are a sappy teen story. The popular girl and the outcast boy. ' - From Finn._

_To : Finn'I wouldn't have it any other way ;)' -From Rachel._ With that, Rachel put away her phone, and turned just in time to see a small smile creep it's way onto Finn's face.

Later that night, Finn was over at Rachel's house for their date. Will and Shelby had left over an hour ago for their date, as well. They were currently in the living room, sitting on the floor leaning against the couch, a dark blue, warm blanket covering them, trying to figure out what movie to watch. After half an hour of arguing, Rachel finally gave in and popped in a scary movie, opposed to one of her broadway ones.

After spending the majority of the movie screaming and yelling and playfully hitting Finn's arm when he laughed at her, everytime something popped onto the screen, scaring the petite brunette, Rachel turned towards Finn and said, "How did you talk me into watching this?" Finn merely shrugged.

"You know," said Rachel totally forgetting that she was supposed to be 'angry' at him. "You're cute." Finn gave her a strange look as if she had gone insane.

"No, like you're _really_ cute." she said. "I honestly don't know how you haven't been snatched up by someone else at school before." Finn blushed.

"Well, girls don't really find outcasts attractive," He said. _'Especially one who does drugs, and drinks, and has a criminal record' _He thought. "And besides, people don't really like me". Rachel frowned, before beaming at him.

"I like you!" She exclaimed happily, bearing all of her bright, pearly white teeth at him. The gesture was very heartwarming, and Finn couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, I'd hope so, we _are _dating, afterall" He joked with a small grin. _'Oh God, when he smiles like that, he's so adorable!' _She thought. Before she knew what she was doing, or had any time to react, she pushed herself up and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. When she pulled back and returned to her original positioned, Finn's expression was one of shock.

"What was that for?" He asked with a laugh.

"Just because you're cute" She smiled, while shrugging. "By the way, my parents seem to like you, too." Rachel said, nodding. "Though, my dad might not like you very much when he finds out we're dating."

"He already knows" Finn said non-chalantly. Rachel's eyes bugged out of her head, while her jaw dropped.

"What?" She asked, shakily.

"Yeah, I told him last week, before we made up. He seemed cool with it." He said. Rachel heaved a

sigh of relief.

"Well, you should feel pretty darn special, he hasn't liked any of my other previous boyfriends." Rachel teased, sticking her tongue out at him. Finn chuckled and kissed the top of her head hesitantly. Rachel beamed and squirmed in her spot, before shuffling closer to Finn and wrapping her arm around his. He gave her a questioning look, but didn't make a move to get it off.

"I'm...cold." She stated. Finn gave her a skeptical look and raised his eyebrow.

"Uh huh. You just wanted to feel my muscles" He teased her. Rachel blushed, scrunching her nose.

"You're a jerk!" She laughed. Finn smirked, removed his arm from her grasp, resulting in a fallen, disappointed look on Rachel's face. He then snaked his arm around her waist, and gently slid her closer to him, so that she could snuggle into his torso, which she immediately complied to.

"Yep, pretty much" Finn replied. The couple then decided to return their focus to the movie. Everytime she would get frightened, she would hide her eyes in Finn's shirt, which he didn't mind one bit. Finn wouldn't admit this out loud, but he liked the warmth her body gave him. It was soothing. It was on the list of things Finn wouldn't admit to any but himself, along with a few other things involving one Rachel Berry. The one highest on his list? He was actually starting to like her. A lot. A few minutes had past with no noises coming from the two of them, with the exception of ragged breaths which were the results of watching a scary movie.

"Finn?" Rachel called out in a small voice.

"Yeah?" He responded, turning his attention to his girlfriend who was snuggled into him.

"You have very nice muscles" She replied, not turning away from the T.V. She felt heat creep up into her cheeks, very embarrassed that she had admitted that aloud. She bit her lip during the parts that scared her, so she would not look at Finn. She had already embarrassed herself, she didn't want to know that she had also embarrassed the poor boy who was holding her tightly. That's why she was surprised when she felt him kiss the top of her head. When she turned to look up at him, she saw that his eyes were fixated on the screen, a small smile and a slight blush on his cheeks were noticable. She smiled, turned back, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"This is nice." Rachel commented, closing her eyes.

"Yep. Now we just have to wait for some jerk to screw it up" He joked, causing Rachel to laugh. They focused back on the movie, when Rachel's cell phone rang. She picked it up, and put it against her ear.

"Hello?" She called into it. Only when she heard creepy, ragged breaths coming from the other side, was when she started to get freaked out.

"Finn" She mouthed to him, and handed him the phone. He put it up to his ear, and his eyebrows furrowed when he heard the same noise as Rachel had. He snapped ended the call and put the phone down on the coffee table in front of them.

"Finn.. I'm kind of scared.." She said. Finn smiled, and pulled her in tighter. He, for the third time that night, kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you" Finn mumbled smiling into her hair. Rachel instantly felt safer, and turned so that she was facing him. She got up on her knees, wiggling out of Finn's grasp, and pressed her lips to his. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. She instinctively threw her arms around his neck, and smiled when she felt Finn smile into the kiss. She felt herself get lost in the kiss as it grew more passionate, deep and heated. By now, they were on to a full-out make-out session. Their first one.

"Woah! I know I said I was cool with you two dating, but Finn, I didn't mean try to swallow my daughter's head!" Will joked as he and Shelby walked into the living room, her draped on his arm. Finn and Rachel immediately pulled apart at the sound of her father's voice. Blushing, they both stared at the carpet in front of them, as if it was about to do a trick.

"Sorry, Daddy, Mom. Didn't know you guys were home." Rachel said, her whole face now red.

"Uh, sorry Mr. Schue, Mrs. Berry" Finn mumbled. They were both very clearly embarrassed. And were utterly confused when the adult couple started laughing.

"It's alright, kids." Will said light-heartedly. Shelby nodded in agreement with her husband.

"We were teenagers once too, we know how it feels to be young and in love," Shelby said, looking over to her husband lovingly. Rachel and Finn both blushed when she said 'in love', if it was possible to become even more red than they were already, that is. "Just, try not to get carried away like we did." Rachel looked up at her parents and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked. Shelby opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped when her husband spoke.

"Nothing, honey. We'll tell you when you're a little bit older and ready to handle what we have to tell

you" Will said.

"Dad, I'm 17. I'm probably a lot more mature than most people in the 12th grade. I'm pretty sure I could handle anything you could tell me. How bad could it be?" Rachel argued. Will nervously laughed.

"Uh, Rachel, why don't you and Finn go up to your room?" Shelby said. Rachel shrugged her shoulders and grabbed her boyfriend's hand, getting to her feet and pulling him onto his own before leading him in the direction of her room.

When they walked in, Rachel's cell phone started ringing again. She looked at Finn nervously, a scared look passed through her eyes. She accepted the call and slowly put it against her ear.

"H-hello?" She called, her nervousness visible. Finn smiled at her comfortingly, causing her to calm down a bit.

"_Hey, Rachel. I was just wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow for lunch?"_ The voice on the other line asked.

"Oh, hello, Jesse." She said into the receiver. She noticed Finn tense up at the sound of his name, so she squeezed his hand trying to comfort him, followed by a smile. "Sorry, I have plans tomorrow."

"_Come on, Rachel. We both know that's not true! You're 's only a matter of time before you agree to go out with me, why don't you just get it over with now?" _Jesse said cockily. Finn grabbed the phone from Rachel's tiny hand, and brought it up close to his head.

"Listen, St. James, Rachel's turned you down multiple times, yet you just keep coming back! Why can't you just get it through your hair product-infested head that she _just doesn't like you_!" Finn growled into the phone.

"_Rachel? Rachel, who was that? Rac-"_ Finn ended the call and placed the phone back into Rachel's hand.

"Sorry, he was getting on my nerves." Finn said sheepishly. Rachel just beamed at him.

"Don't be. I thought it was actually kind of sweet." Rachel told him, which resulted in him smirking. She grinned at him then flung herself at him, hugging him tightly. He reciprocated the embrace, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist. She nuzzled her head into his chest, and he leaned down. His head was now near the top of hers, and he then sniffed her hair. Rachel pulled away chuckling.

"Did you just sniff my hair?" She asked, clearly amused. Finn shuffled his feet, embarrassed, and for possibly the 50th time that night, he blushed. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but even Finn had to admit to himself, he blushed a lot around Rachel.

"Noo..." Finn said. Rachel laughed and playfully pushed him. Finn grinned in return, and grabbed her hand. Rachel's face fell when she saw the serious look on his.

"Rach, Jesse's going to get suspicious of us." He stated bluntly. Rachel stood there, rock solidly. She pondered for a moment, but came up with a conclusion.

"But he doesn't know what your voice sounds like, thanks to your un-natural silence during school" She declared.

"Hey... It's not un-natural! I just don't like people. And that seems to be going for me, because they don't like me either." Finn said. Rachel groaned.

"Finn, don't get into this again. I like you. You shouldn't care if people like you or not, anyway." She told him. Finn squinted his eyes, zeroing down at her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, knowing something was going to come out of his mouth. Something she would not want to hear.

"Then why do you?" He asked softly. Alright, so Finn admitted that he liked her earlier, but he still didn't forget about the original plan. He had to gain some popularity so he'd stop getting beat up and slushied, and start getting treated like a person.

"Finn..." Rachel said sadly. She felt a guilty pang in her stomach, and she started to frown. She didn't want to keep it quiet, really, she didn't. But if that's what's best for her right now, then that's what's going to happen.

"It's okay, Rach. I know it won't be like this forever. It's cool, I just want you to _want _to tell people" He smiled, which only caused Rachel to frown more. Why did he just have to be _so _understanding? And why did that smile have to be _so _irresistible?

"God, Finn. Stop smiling." Rachel mumbled, more to herself than to Finn. He apparently, having heard, raised his eyebrow at her.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing." She replied. Finn grinned, and pulled her to his side.

"Why do you want me to stop smiling?" He asked, still grinning. _'Oh, how I want to wipe that off of his face right now'_ Rachel thought to herself.

"Because you're irresistible when you smile" She muttered under her breath. Finn cupped his ear, motioning for her to speak louder.

"What's that? I couldn't hear you!" He said. Rachel grumbled and crossed her arms in a childish manner.

"I said because you're irresistible when you smile." She repeated, although it was not much louder than the previous time.

"Come on, Rach, I'm not a rat, I don't have super-sensitive hearing" He joked.

"I said, because you're so damn irresistible when you smile" She said. Finn grinned, and winked at her.

"I'll be sure to smile the next time you're mad at me" He laughed. Rachel, once again, playfully slapped him on the chest.

"You're a jerk, Finn Hudson" She declared.

"Didn't we already establish this earlier?" He joked. Rachel smiled at him in response, and got on her tippy-toes, to give him what was mean't to be a small peck on the lips. Finn pulled her closer, and deepened it. They made out for a few minute in her room, before Rachel pulled away.

"Leaning up hurts my neck." She stated.

"How do you think I feel? I have a midget girlfriend, I have to lean down!" Finn laughed when she pouted and crossed her arms. "See! You look just like a little kid!" He said.

"You look like a giant!" She retored.

"That's because I _am _a giant." He flashed a smile. _'Gosh, I smile way too much around her.'_ He thought.

"I know. And our height difference makes us an even more adorable couple than we already are." Finn simply nodded in agreement. He looked at his phone and saw the time. _11: 47 p.m. _Finn's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Rachel noticed his boyfriend's shocked look.

"What's wrong, Finn?" Rachel asked.

"I have to go, it's really late. My uncle will kill me if he's still up" Finn said quickly. _'Literally'. _

"You're uncle?" She asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah, I live with my uncle. 'Kay, Rach, I'd love to play this is your life, but I _really _have got to go." He said.

"I'll walk you to the door." She replied. Finn looped his arm with hers, and they headed down to the stairs.

"Such a gentleman" Finn joked, receiving a glare from his girlfriend.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, gentle_woman_. Geez, angry Rachel is scary." He said.

"And don't you forget it! Remember that next time before you do something to make me angry" She said with a proud grin, which was wiped off her face with Finn's next comment.

"But if I do make you angry, I'll just smile my irresistible smile." He teased, as they neared the front door.

"I hate you..." Rachel growled. Finn grinned at her. He stood in front of his tiny girlfriend, and bent down, placing a soft, short kiss on her lips, before pulling away and leaning up to her ear.

"No you don't" He said, then kissed her forehead and winked at her. "Tell your Mom and Dad I said goodbye. Night Rach" Finn said, before opening the door and walking out. Rachel stood looking at the door where Finn was standing just a few seconds prior. She touched her botton lip with her fingers and smiled. _'Today has been a productive day' _She thought, as she turned towards the stairs.

"Mom! Dad! Finn said goodbye! I'm going to bed, night!" She called as she walked up, and into her room. Rachel pulled out her phone and quickly sent a text.

_To Finn: 'Have a safe walk home. See you tomorrow?' - From Rachel. _She eagarly awaited his response, she practically jumped when she felt her phone vibrate.

_To Rachel: 'Can't. Sorry, R.' - From Finn. _She frowned when she read this. Did he not want to see her? Was he getting bored of her already?

_To Finn: 'Why not? ' -From Rachel._

_To Rachel: 'I've got a job interview' – From Finn._ This text message confused Rachel. _'Why does he need a job?'_ She asked herself, then thought it'd be better to ask him that, instead of herself.

_To Finn: 'What for?' -From Rachel._

_To Rachel: 'I've got to make some cash so I can take my girl out on nice dates. ;) Night.' - From Finn. _

She felt her heart flutter. He was very sweet and thoughtful already, he had brought her chocolate when he came over today, because of the embarrassing fake-confession she had made in Spanish class, and then she had to explain it to Finn, which was even more embarrassing, but now he wanted to work so he could take her on nice dates? _'This guys is so much better than all of these other Lima losers that I've dated in the past'_ She thought, then grinned as she began to text her reply.

_To Finn: 'You know, in the past, almost 4 weeks, I've noticed a change in you. I like it. :) Night' -From Rachel._

_To Rachel: 'Whatever you say, midget.' - From Finn._

_

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_

_Did you guys like it? :) We had fun writing it! It looks like Finn is really warming up to Rachel, huh? _

_Any suggestions would be great! Reviews would be even GREATER :D (Although, you'd probably have to review in order to give us suggestions... But you could also inbox, I guess...) So, anyway, the point is please, leave us a review letting us know how you like the story!_

_:) xxx 3 3_

_M & A._


	14. Chapter 14

_I can't believe I haven't updated in so long! I've been trying to write this chapter the whole time, but I kept getting side-tracked. Well, I hope you will be pleased with this chapter, I've worked hard, so reviewing is appreciated :D._

_On another note, I am very excited :D Tonight, I am going to see Wicked :) Can't wait!_

**_Disclaimer: Don't own Glee._**

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Sunday morning, Rachel groggily got out of bed and went to her window. She grabbed the bright pink curtains and threw them apart, letting sunlight fill the room. She stretched and peaked out the window. She noticed a tint of frost starting to lace the glass, and smiled. It was now late November, and the weather was beginning to change drastically, week by week. She decided to crack open the window a bit, and a fresh breeze of cool air burst in. She began to inhale the scent that she found oh-so delightful, when she was interrupted by the sound of her ringing cell phone. Rachel paced over to her nightstand beside her bed, sitting down on her bed, picked up her phone and smiled softly at the name shown on the caller I.D.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Rach." _Finn's voice rang through the other line.

"Oh, Good morning, Finn. How are you?" Rachel brightly chirped.

"_I'm alright. You? Guess what?" _Finn asked. His voice was filled with excitement. Rachel smiled, it was the most enthusiastic she had ever seen (well, heard) him.

"What is it?"

"_I got the job!" _He shouted.

"That's great, Finn!"

"_Yeah. Sorry I couldn't hang out with you yesterday, but I wanna see you today. Are you free?" _He asked. Rachel immediately shot up and walked over to the kitty calender she had on her wall and checked if there was anything scheduled for that day.

"I don't have anything planned" She stated, then walked over to her closet, and started searching for an outfit to wear. Realizing she had mostly summer-esque clothing, she had a suggestion for an activity for the couple to do that day. "Hey, Finn..." Rachel called in a sweet voice.

"_Yeah?"_

"We should go to the mall today!"

"_The mall?" _Finn asked.

"Yeah! I kind of have to get some clothes for the colder weather, and it'd be fun!" She said brightly.

"_But won't people from school see you there with me?" _

"Well, I can't deny the possiblity of that happening, but I doubt it. Besides, the mall is huge, what are

the chances of being seen?"

"_Alright... What time should I meet you at your house?"_

"Uh, noon?"

"_Alright. See you later, Rach" _Finn said before hanging up. Rachel put her phone down and looked at the time. _11:04. 'Crap'_ Rachel thought, hurrying to the bathroom to shower, only to return once she heard her phone ring again.

"Hello?" She quickly answered.

"Hello, Rachel" A voice said.

"What do you want, Jesse?" Rachel asked, sighing. _'When will he ever leave me alone?' _she thought.

"Well, I called you last night, and someone else seemed to have hung up on me. Are we still on for lunch today?" She could almost see him smirking.

Scoffing, she replied, "No, I never accepted your attempt to ask me out, and I have to go now, Jesse, I have things to do, places to be, people to see. Goodbye." She abruptly said before hanging up the phone. She sighed and lightly tugged at her hair, before realization hit her, and she rushed back to the bathroom.

It was a few minutes past twelve when Finn showed up at Rachel's house. When he knocked on the door, he patiently fiddled with the bottom of his jacket while he waited for someone to open the door, and he was soon greeted by his girlfriend's father.

"Hello, Finn! I'm guessing you're here for Rachel?" He smiled as he spoke. Anyone could clearly see that he was already warming up to Finn. Finn nodded and Will opened the door for him to come in. Finn stepped inside, and Will led him to the living room, and both sat on the couch.

"Well, Finn. Rachel will probably be ready soon." He told the boy.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue." Finn replied.

"Please, Finn. Outside of class, call me Will. I have a feeling you're going to be sticking around for a long time, so we should get familiar with each other, at the least." Will said. Finn nodded.

"Sure, Mr. Sch-..ahh, I mean Will." He said with a small smile thrown at his teacher. Footsteps were heard coming from the stairs, so both men turned to look.

"Daddy!" Rachel called, suddenly appearing from the stairs. She ran over to the couch behind her father, and whispered in his ear. Will sighed and dug around his pocket, pulling out his wallet and handing her some money.

"That's all?" She asked, pouting. Her father let out another sigh and pulled out a few more bills, handing it to her, all whilst Finn was trying not to laugh. "Thanks, Daddy! Love you!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek before skipping around the couch and tugging on Finn's hand.

"Bye, Daddy! I'll see you sometime...later! Come on, Finn! Let's go!" She called, pulling her boyfriend to his feet and jogging towards the door. When they were outside and a few houses away from hers, Finn looked down at her.

"No _'hey, Finn, what's up?'_ from you today?" He asked jokingly, chuckling when her eyes widened as she turned to him and jumped into an embrace.

"I'm sorry! How rude of me!" She cried, before giving him a peck on the cheek, receiving a small smirk from him.

"It's alright," He smiled. He then noticed her outfit. She was wearing dark grey sweatpants that were atleast two sizes too big for her, a red McKinley High long-sleeved shirt, while her hair curly and let down of it's usual tight ponytail, and he also noted she was wearing no make-up. "You look great." He told her, smiling. Rachel blushed and shook her head, disagreeing with him.

"Are you kidding? I look like a mess! But, these were the basically the only clothes that weren't either needing a wash, or were too Summer-ish." She said, shivering slightly as a cool breeze swept them both. Finn took note of it and immediately slid off his jacket and handed it to her, who didn't accept it.

"No, Finn. You're going to get cold." She stated stubbornly. Finn then decided to just put it around her shoulders.

"Finn-" Rachel started but was cut off.

"I'm not hearing it, Rach. You're going to get sick. Look," He said, picking up a clump of her hair and showing it to her. "You can clearly see it's still kind of wet. You're wearing the jacket. Don't deny it, don't pout, just smile and say thank you." He demanded, earning a pout from Rachel. Finn shrugged it off, but gave her a smirk which she couldn't help but smile back at. She straightened out the jacket, putting her arms through the sleeves. They continued walking, but Rachel stopped Finn and smiled at him.

"Thank you."

After being at the mall for a few hours, basically waiting while Rachel tried on clothes, Finn felt a shiver run through his spine. He felt as if there were a pair of eyes on the two the whole day. He leaned down to his girlfriend as they were circling the mall and whispered in her ear.

"I think we've been followed." Rachel's eyes widened and she snapped her head to look behind them, before returning it to it's original position, facing in front of them.

"No, we haven't, Finn. You're just paranoid" She told him, patting his arm.

"But-" Finn was cut off.

"No buts, Finn. Oh! Look, milkshakes!" She exclaimed, pulling him by his hand towards the small shop. Rachel ordered herself a vanilla shake, while Finn ordered a chocolate one. When Finn tried to take out his wallet and pay, Rachel slapped his hand away.

"What?" Finn asked confusedly.

"It's on me."

"But, the guy's supposed to pay. It's like a law or something." He said. "Chivalry, right?"

"It's not a law, Finn. And I want to pay. My treat for being so patient today." She told him smiling, paying the cashier. She motioned for him to follow her to a table. They sat down and started making conversation while sipping their drinks. Rachel had her fists balled up and leaned her head against them while smiling at Finn with her eyes closed, when a flash struck. Finn whipped his head in the direction of it, but found nothing.

"I saw a camera flash." Finn said. Rachel gave him a skeptical look, before finishing off her drink and standing up.

"Come on, Finn! We have more shopping to do!" She cheered before treading away. As they continued on, Finn saw another flash coming from behind him.

"Rach, did you just see that?" He asked worriedly.

"See what?" Rachel asked, turning to the incredibly tall boy.

"I swear I just saw another flash!"

"I didn't see anything." Rachel said, continuing to look at the windows of stores as they past. Another flash clouded Finn's vision.

"I just saw another one!" He loudly whispered to her. Rachel smiled, grabbing his hand and turned to face him.

"Finn, there's nothing and nobody following us. You're just paranoid." She said with a sweet, comforting smile. Another flash caught them, and this time Rachel had seen it as well. "What the..." She said, dazed from the sudden bright light.

"I knew there was a flash!" Finn declared triumphantly. Rachel simply shook her head and continued walking. Something in a window had caught her eye, causing her to run in, dropping Finn's hand and leaving him behind. He sighed, shaking his head and followed after her.

Later that day, Finn had walked Rachel home and up to her door, where they were currently standing. It was around 6 p.m, and the sky was getting dark, with a tint of purple that slightly illuminated it. The wind was thrashing, and Finn laughed when it whipped Rachel's hair all over. He stepped closer to her and tucked a strand behind her ear.

"The wind's blowing your hair," He said with a smile. A delictable aroma filled his senses, and he realized the scent was coming from her hair. "Your hair smells good, too." Finn stepped closer to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Finn?" Rachel muttered into his shirt.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You're kind of crushing me." Finn immediately pulled away, slightly blushing.

"Sorry." He apologized. Rachel waved it off.

"It's no big deal. I mean, who needs really needs oxygen?" She joked, resulting in them laughing together. Finn grabbed Rachel's hand in his own, bringing it close to him.

"One, your hand's cold. Two, will you go to dinner with me?" He asked.

"Uh, sure. When?"

"Tomorrow night. Monday's the only day off I have before I start work this week." Finn explained.

"Finn, I'd love to go to dinner with you tomorrow night. I have Cheerio practice until 5, so meet me here at around 6 or 7?" Rachel asked.

"Sure. Now go inside before you catch a cold. I'm sure the Cheerio's would suck without their head cheerleader." Finn said, before swooping down and kissing her briefly on the flash fired, but neither took note of it. After pulling away, he said goodbye and gave her hand a soft kiss before walking away.

In her Biology class, Rachel sat at her desk, repeatedly tapping her pencil against her binder, waiting for class to begin. The teacher arrived when the bell had rung throughout the school, and she shifted in her seat, straighting up. She doesn't particularly like this class, but it was one of her most challenging, and Rachel Berry likes a challenge.

"Good Morning, class. Today, we will be expanding on your knowledge of animal cells from previous years. We will start with vertebrates." The teacher said as he waltzed over to the chalkboard. A knock was heard at the door, causing the students to turn. Standing there in the door way, was none other than Jesse St. James. Rachel inwardly groaned, but turned her attention to her notebook open before her.

"Uh, excuse me, Mr...Mr. Malkin, I'm a new student to this class." Jesse said, flashing a smile at the grey-haired man.

"Come here, son. Show me your timetable." Mr. Malkin said. Jesse obliged, walking over to where the teacher was, briefly handing him his schedule. "Very well, Mr. St. James, please take your place at one of the free seats." He directed, handing back the paper before fixing his glasses and turning back to the chalkboard. Jesse walked over to one of the four available seats. Right next to Rachel.

"Hello, Rachel." He purred. Rachel did nothing but pick up a pencil and begin to copy down the notes the teacher was currently writing on the board. "Come on, babe, don't be like that." He said, grabbing her free hand with both of his. She slammed her pencil down on the table, before turning to him in a very Grudge-esque way.

"Do not call me _babe_, and do not _touch _me!" She growled, jerking her hand from his grasp.

"Is there a problem here, Miss. Berry?" Mr. Malkin asked. Rachel blushed, shaking her head. "Mr. St. James?"

"No, Sir." He replied, also shaking his head, and turning in his seat to face the board.

"Well then, please copy down these notes. They will be on your exam." The elderly man said. Jesse pulled out a notebook and pencil, opening the book to a fresh pages, and proceeded to write in it. Once he was done copying down the notes that were written on the board, while Mr. Malkin was babbling on about the topic, Jesse grew bored and decided to pass Rachel a note.

_~ Don't deny it; you want me.~ _Jesse wrote, ripping out the paper, folding it and passing it to the brunette next to him. He watched as she furrowed her eyebrows as she read it, before replying to it.

_~Why the hell are you even in my class?~_ Jesse smirked as he read it. It had taken a lot to convince the guidance councilor to switch him to this class, and it took even more to get a copy of Rachel's schedule from that Jacob Ben Israel boy. Jewfro just wouldn't give it up; he was probably more infatuated with Rachel than Jesse St. James was. Infatuation was probably the wrong word to use, more like obsession.

_~Why, I took it so I could keep an eye on you, my lovely goddess.~ _When Rachel read it, her facial expression turned to one of disgust, instead of her previous one of confusion. She scribbled down her response, before crumpling the paper up and throwing roughly it at his head.

_~Screw you.~_ Was Rachel's reply. She had no more patientance for this boy. For multiple weeks, he attempted to get her, but it was to no avail. Usually, this kind of attention would be flattering, but Jesse was just down-right _obsessed_, and to be honest, it sort of scared Rachel. He was almost as bad as Jacob. Then, it clicked in her head. _'Was Jacob the mysterious call I got on Friday?'_ She mentally asked herself. _'Well, it makes sense. It's possible'_

"Hey, Rachel!" Jesse called as he neared her locker. Rachel sighed, closing the small door and turned to him. She was surprised when she came face-to-face with a bouquet of bright, beautiful red roses. The scent filled her nose, and she inhaled the pleasant aroma, but quickly put her poker face back on.

"What are these for?" She asked. Although they smelt amazing, she did not appreciate such a romantic gesture coming from someone like him. Specifically him.

"A gentleman always brings a girl flowers before taking her out." He retorted smugly, leaning against the lockers. He pulled out one of the roses and started twirling it around in his hand, careful not to hit the thorns.

Rachel stood glaring at Jesse "I told you," she said, dangerously slow. "I do not want to go out with you."

"Oh Rachel, don't be. I know that you want to go out with me. I mean come on, why wouldn't you? What with me, and my handsome, manly features." said Jesse seductively smiling at her. Jesse winked at her, twirling the rose between his fingers. Rachel made a gagging face at him, and inwardly smiled victoriously as his face fell.

"Oh, gosh, Jesse. You won't stop calling or texting me, you just randomly switch into my biology class, and you repeatedly ask me out, with me refusing every singly time. When will you ever just get a clue? I don't _like _you. Nor will I _ever _like you. Please get that through your thick skull, and stop pestering me." Rachel groaned. She pushed the bouquet out of her face and balanced herself on her heels, ready to make an exit from the scene. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have important things to do." She declared, spinning around.

"Like what? Hang out with that Hudson boy?" He called. Rachel stopped dead in her tracks. She felt her muscles tighten up. _'Does he know?' _She inwardly asked.

"E-excuse me?" She asked him, back still turned. She listened to footsteps, as Jesse walked around to face her. She could feel and hear her heartbeat, beating in her ears as she watched egotistical smile surface.

"Oh nothing, I've just noticed the way you look at him during Spanish class. The look you give him is definitely _not _one you give to a friend. Well, not _just _a friend, anyway. And I'm not too sure his intentions concerning you, whatever they are, are entirely pure. I mean, why would they be? You're pretty much every guy in this school's fantasy. Head cheerleader and the school pariah? Total cliche. But that would never happen, would it?" He asked pompously, stepping closer to her.

"Of course it wouldn't. Not when your reputation is at stake. Popularity is _everything _in highschool. I hear, you can even use being popular on your college application. And Rachel Berry is expected to go to a good college, and Rachel Berry does not disappoint, does she?" Jesse smugly said. After moments of standing still in silence, Rachel finally spoke.

"Jesse, you know nothing." She said, causing Jesse to cock an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" He asked, receiving a nod. "Alright, well, we'll just see about that, won't we?" He finished, before stalking off, leaving Rachel to heave a staggering breath.

Monday night rolled around, and Rachel and Finn were currently in Puck's truck that Finn had borrowed from him, silently driving towards Breadsticks. When they arrived, Finn helped her out of the car, and led her into the restaurant. They were seated at a nice booth and were given menus.

"So, what looks good?" Finn asked her. Rachel shyly smiled, pulling the menu down from her face before replying.

"You." Finn chuckled, slightly flustered.

"You do too." He said smiling. "But I was talking about the food."

"I know." Rachel laughed. " Um. The veggie burger looks pretty good. I think I'll get that."

"Awesome, and I'll get a bacon cheeseburger." Finn declared, placing the menu down on the table.

"Yum, sounds artery-clogging." Rachel sarcastically added.

"Well, you know, I've got to stay in top-shape." Finn retorted, smirking at her. A waiter then came, and they ordered their food.

"Finn?" Rachel called.

"Yeah, Rach?"

"What do you do afterschool?" She asked. Finn froze. Was it possible that Rachel somehow knew about his little habits? _'No, she couldn't possible know. I took every precaution.' _

"Uh, m-my homework, what else?" He rejoined.

"That's all you do?"

"What else would I do?" He asked.

"I don't know. You said you liked sports, you don't play?"

"Oh. Sometimes I play football, soccer or basketball with Puck." Finn stated.

"You should try out for the teams." She declared. Finn scoffed, resulting in Rachel looking at him in wonder.

"Yeah, right." He said. Rachel pouted.

"Why not? Even though I've never seen you play before, I bet you're better than most of the players on the teams. Why not try out for the football team? You're a pretty tall guy, and you have nice arms, so you'd probably be able to throw the ball pretty far."

"Are you kidding? I am awesome, but I'd get hassled by the guys. And some of these people, man, they take it to extremes." He told her.

"How about soccer? You have long legs." She said. Finn shook his head.

"I'm uncoordinated."

"Basketball?" Rachel asked. Finn sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get out of just saying no.

"Maybe." He said. Rachel seemed satisfied with the answer and beamed at him.

"So what about you, Miss. Broadway? Still going to follow that dream?" Finn asked, catching her by surprise.

"You remembered that?" She asked, shocked. Finn smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, of course. I have a pretty good memory, and aren't you supposed to remember things your girlfriend told you?" Rachel flashed him a smile instead of answering. "So, are you going to become a Broadway star, or what?"

"...I don't know. I mean, I've never really been encouraged by anyone except my parents and Quinn. Everyone else I've told, told me I'd never make it. I don't know if I have enough confidence to actually go for it anymore." Rachel said. Finn grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb over the top.

"So what if people discourage you. As long as you've got atleast one person behind you, that's good enough. And Rach, you have _four _people behind you. People that care about you. You can make it, if it's what you really want." Finn recited. Rachel was left speechless, her eyes sparkling in amazement and adoration.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"You're welcome, Rach." He smiled. The waiter then returned with their food, and they both began to eat. About half way through the meal, Finn's eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Finn?" She asked him. Finn grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"Jesse's here." He said. Rachel felt her blood run cold, as her eyes also widened.

"What?" She asked sharply. Finn pointed behind her, towards the entrance. She turned around and nevertheless, saw Jesse St. James there. "Crap. Finn, get under the table."

"What?" He asked, confusedly.

"Get under the table." She whispered harshly. Finn shrugged before moving under the table.

"Oh, hello there, Rachel. And what might you be doing on this fine evening?" Jesse asked as he walked over to her with a blonde girl attached to his arm. "Apparently alone, might I add."

"I'm here to pet some ducks." Rachel said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You lied to me, Jesse! You said there were no ducks here!" The blonde exclaimed. Rachel and Jesse both stared at her for a moment, before looking away.

"Obviously I'm here to eat, Jesse." She said. Rachel then looked back at the blonde and smiled. "Hey, Brittany. What are you doing here with _that_?"

"Harsh, Rach, harsh." Jesse said, putting his hand over his heart, dramatically. "That hurt me. Right here."

"Jesse asked me out. He's cute, plus I like spaghetti. Breadsticks has the best spaghetti." Brittany said. Rachel's mouth formed an 'o', while she nodded her head, eyebrows furrowed, obviously still slightly confused by the blonde girl.

"Well, we better get to our table, Brit. Goodbye, Rachel." Jesse said, winking at her, before pulling Brittany along. When Finn could no longer see their feet, he called out.

"Can I come back up yet?"

"We should just leave."

"Alright, just get the check, so I can pay and we can go." Finn said. Rachel agreed, and called the waiter over. Finn slowly rose out from under the table and sat back at his seat. He payed the bill, and they quickly snuck off. They got in the truck, and Finn drove off.

In the car, they had decided to go to the park for a little while, and they were just pulling into the parking lot. Once in the park, Rachel ran towards the swings, sat down and started laughing hysterically, while Finn looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Rachel nodded, wiping her eyes because she laughed so hard that she cried. "Why're you laughing?"

"I don't really know..." She replied. Finn grinned and shook his head.

"You're insane, babe." He said.

"Thanks,_ babe_." Rachel returned, smiling.

"It is okay if I call you that, right? I mean, I hear the other guys at school call their girlfriends that and I just-" Finn fumbled, but was cut off by Rachel's lips on his. "That was rude!" He exclaimed laughing, when they pulled away. Rachel stuck out her tongue at him and sat down on his lap, straddling his waist, for it was the only way to keep her balance.

"You can call me anything you'd like." She innocently said. And although she meant it to be completely innocent, something about the situation made it uncomfortable for them both.

"Even...Santana?" Finn joked, grinned at her, knowning about how much she hated Santana. Laughing when Rachel made a disgusted face, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Just try calling me that and see where it gets you." She retorted, wrapping her arms around his neck, placing her forehead against his. "This is a very promising position we're in."

"I kind of like it." Finn said, smiling lewdly.

Rachel snorted. "You would." She replied. Finn didn't answer, but he started tickling her. She got up off of him, laughing as he chased her.

Jesse stood in the dark room, waiting while the photographs developed. Playing with his thumbs, he thought of how Rachel would react when she caught sight of them. He thought of how the whole student body would react. They'd probably start a riot. Becoming impatient with his evil little plan, he pulled one of the water and smiled diabolically.

"Get ready to be exposed." He muttered darkly.

During Cheerio practice, the girls on the squad kept giving Rachel weird looks. She shrugged them off for now; she'd get to the bottom of it later. She watched as Santana whispered in Becky's ear. _'Probably about me, I bet.' _She thought. _'Or about her latest STD diagnosis.' _Rachel laughed nastily to herself, before she let her mind return to the routine.

After practice, Rachel gathered her things in her gym bag, and started towards the locker room, but was pulled back by her bestfriend on crutches.

"What the hell is this?" She demanded. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Well, if you tell me what the hell you're talking about, I might be able to tell you what the hell it is." Rachel retorted.

"Don't play with me, Berry." Quinn warned her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Fabray." She said. Quinn pulled out a newspaper from under her arm and flung it at Rachel, who caught it. Her eyes widened as she saw the pictures featured on it.

"No, no, no no!" She chanted, horrified.

"So, it's true then? Why didn't you tell me?" Quinn asked, her expression changing.

"You told me I couldn't! But that's not important right now, I have to go find Finn!" Rachel announced, running off with the newspaper, leaving behind a semi-confused, worried Quinn Fabray.

When Finn walked through the school doors, he got many stares and whispers. Guys looked at him with a tone of jealousy and disdain, while the girls looked at him in amazement, and some even winked at him. Finn shrugged the looks off, and continued towards his locker. He took out his books for the first two periods, and shut the door, coming face-to-face with Rachel. He began to worry, because she wouldn't speak and she looked upset.

"Rach, what's wrong?" He asked sweetly. Rachel then looked at the item in her hand. The school's newspaper. She lifted her arm and threw it to him.

"We've been revealed."

* * *

_Well? Did you like it? Please review! Let's aim for...15, maybe? Also, I love reading your suggestions, so if you have an idea, let me know! I'd also take ideas for stories, but I probably wouldn't post them until I finished this story alone with **Where Is Your Boy Tonight?** _

_:) xxx 3_

_M._


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry for another late chapter! I had a pretty busy week and half. Exams are this week, and luckily for me I only have two. On Tuesday and Wednesday. So I have Thursday and Friday, plus the weekend off, so I can write :D Expect another chapter by next Monday at the latest._

_Anyways, please forgive my poor attempts at Sue Sylvester. Hopefully they will get better. :S_

_Just know that I really do love you guys and all your reviews! 17 reviews, 2 more than I asked for :D Amazing! Think we could go for 20, maybe 25? If you guys could all review, it might help me pass my exams :D I didn't really study, because I was attempting to write this. It's now nearly 6:00 a.m here, and I literally stood up all night writing, so KNOW that I love you guys. Now I have to leave FF for the next 2 days so I can study my butt off. But I really would appreciate 20-(could 30 be possible?) reviews, and it would help me get out a really good chapter super quick! Because you guys inspire me to write 3, anyways, I'll stop ranting._

_Oh, and just a question, would you be open to musical performances? Not Glee club or anything. And if so, what songs would you like to see and in what scenes? :)_

**_Disclaimer: Don't own Glee_**

* * *

His blood ran cold as he filled with grief and guilt as if he was the cause of the distressed look occupying Rachel's facial features. Although he had to accept some of the blame, since he was dating her and all, it was mostly Jesse's fault for exposing them ruthlessly like that; for the sole reason of jealousy. It was no secret that Jesse lusted over Rachel, he had a freak obsession with her. And it was completely unacceptable to him that Finn, the pariah of the school, had her.

Finn noticed her hand slightly shaking, either with anger or worry. Her head was dipped down, her bangs covering her eyes. "Rach?" He said in a soothing voice, trying to put her at ease. He reached to grab her hand in his, but she jerked her hand away just as they made contact. Finn saw the large group of adolescents formed around them, staring at them like hawks, whispering to themselves as they watched the scene before them unfold.

"Rachel, let's talk somewhere quiet." Finn muttered to her, who simply nodded, not making eye contact with him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him in the direction of the auditorium, which she knew was unoccupied. Rachel was about to push through the crowd, but they parted as soon with fear as she stepped near them, throwing daggering glares at each and everyone of them.

As the door to the auditorium slammed shut behind them, she immediately dropped her grip on Finn, his hand falling to his side. His eyes followed her as she walked over and leaned against the piano, running her hand through her hair, exhaling deeply. He felt an urge to go over there, hug her and tell her it'll all be okay, but resisted. Instead, he found a place against the wall, leaned up against it and watched her with smouldering eyes. Knowing that she was being watched intensely, Rachel felt herself shiver, and turned to stare right back at him, with equal emotions.

The two found themselves stay like that for a while, before hearing the first period bell ring. Neither made a move to leave. "So what are we going to do?" Finn asked, finally breaking the agonizing silence. Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but only to have no words come out, except a small squeak that rang throughout the room.

"Rachel?" He called. Rachel simply looked at him with a distressed and worried look on her face. He sighed and pushed himself off the wall, and began to walk towards her. As he neared, Rachel sunk to the ground.

"Rach." Finn crouched down in front of her, cupping her face in his hands. Rachel swallowed hard as she was forced to look him straight in the eye, noticing an unfamiliar emotion sketched in his eyes. They were dark, dilated, but somehow gracious and tender. Her breathing was deep, heavy and uneven; her heart beating hard, while it was barely possible to make out his chest moving.

She noticed Finn's tongue brush across his lips, and involuntarily did the same, as her eyes moved between his and his shining lips. Finn inhaled a deep, silent breath, before leaning forward and softly pressing his lips to hers in a gentle, affectionate kiss. Rachel slowly responded, soon finding her troubles being pushed to the back of her mind. The only coherent thought she could muster was how warm and soft Finn's mouth felt as it caressed her own.

Finn broke the kiss, ending it just as fast as it started, once he felt and tasted salty teardrops falling from Rachel's eyes. He had a small smile gracing the lips that had been on Rachel's only a few seconds ago; gently fondling her slightly damp cheek with his thumb.

"We can make it through this, Rach." He said in such a caring voice, that it made Rachel _want _to believe they could, but she had possibly incurable doubts. She lifted her hand and wiped away the stray tears with her wrist, shaking her head.

"I don't think I can do this." She said with a shaky voice, after some time spent hesitating her words. Finn looked as if he was punched in the gut, but quickly pushed past those feelings and put on a brave face for Rachel's sake.

"Yes you can, Rach. And it's not like you're going to be on your own. You have support, you have _me_." Finn declared encouragingly, standing up and hoisting her up to her feet.

"N-no, I can't, Finn." She said before turning and heading towards the door.

"Rachel, what the hell? Are you being for real right now?" Finn's anger filled voice bounced against the walls. He took few steps towards her, and inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself down. "Are you seriously just going to throw everything away?"

"I-I...I just need some time to think, Finn." Rachel's voice cracked as she spoke. She couldn't believe what she was saying. Heck, she couldn't believe the situation she was in.

"About _what_? God, Rachel, why can't you just stand up for yourself for once?" Finn grunted out. Rachel quivered with a sudden anger as she turned around.

"For _once_? I stood up for _you multiple _times." The petite brunette barked at she stepped right up to him. Finn had to admit, for such a tiny girl, she was _very _intimidating when she was angry. "But Finn, I _need _this. Don't you see? Popularity is the most important thing in highschool! They'll eat me _alive_ without it! Just like-" Rachel said, but stopped herself before it went too far. Her eyes widened as his face fell into an emotionless state.

"Just like who? Like _me_?" Finn asked softly. Rachel immediately regretted saying anything. She felt terrible that because of what _she_, his girlfriend, had said was the cause of him sounding so broken. "Sure, I may not be popular like some people, but I thought you weren't that shallow." He swallowed hard as tears began to form in his eyes. He felt resent even more than hurt at the moment. And guilt. Because he knows he was doing it for the same thing. _'If all else fails, I can be one heck of an actor' _He grimly thought to himself.

"I'm not-" Rachel began to plead with him. Finn put his hand up to quiet her.

"Save it, Rachel." He spat out her name as if it had burned his tongue. "Go ahead. Go _think_, I need to do my own thinking." Once that was said, Finn walked out of the auditorium with Rachel calling his name after him.

"Finn!" She called, taking a step forward, but coming to an abrupt stop as the door slammed shut in front of her face. She let out a frustrated scream as she pounded the door. She saw a chair beside the door, and decided to take away the frustrations on that. Rachel kicked the chair, letting it fly into the air, before inhaling deeply, putting on her show-smile and walking out in a poise fashion.

Finn dragged himself through his unsettling, eerie, seemingly deserted house and up to his room, but not before stealing a bottle of his uncle's whiskey. In his room, he took a long swig of the bottle, and took out a blunt from his secret stash of weed and lit it up, taking a puff. For the past few weeks, he had been drinking less, and had done less drugs than he was used to. He hadn't really felt the overwhelming need to, as he usually did. His mind was usually revolved around Rachel, and well, not getting beat by Mark. Rachel usually kept his mind off all the, well, all the _suck_, going on in his life. But now that they were in an argument, hell, he didn't even know if they were still _together_, it felt as if all his troubles crashed onto his shoulders and he had to juggle them with the other _joys_ of being a teenager.

Senior year was no walk in the park, he still had recommendation letters to be written and college applications to be sent, and he didn't even _know _which college he wanted to go to. And it's not like he has many options, he's no genius, and he had come to terms with it. The only classes he _wasn't _falling were English, Spanish, Music and Physical Education. Math confused him to no end,(seriously? Numbers or letters, pick one and STICK WITH IT) he almost blew up the Science lab on the first day of class, and he just couldn't _memorize_ all those dates in History. Finn, despite his appearance (sleeping in class, messy notes, homework with stains from his burger at lunch), cared about school, he truly did. He didn't want to end up stuck in this cow town, working at the gas station, or a grocery story, or Sheets 'n' Things for the rest of his life, so he worked hard. He usually failed, however, because he just didn't _understand_. He didn't understand why he was learning what he was learning.

Sighing, he leaned against the door and slid to the floor, inhaling another puff. He put the open bottle next to him, then ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on it. He noticed it was getting rather long. _'I'll get a haircut after work on Saturday.' _He thought to himself, as he finished off his stick. His mind suddenly became fuzzy, and he smiled to himself. The drug was starting its effect.

He picked up the bottle and began to chug the liquid down. It was burning his throat, but he didn't care, he needed to forget; to be in another state of mind.

Several hours later, Finn was completely wasted. His back was still against the door, but now he was breathing deeply. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open and he already knew they were bloodshot. Before he knew what he was doing, he took out his phone from his pocket and began to dial. He dialled Rachel's number, but it went straight to voice mail. She was either ignoring him, or had her phone turned off.

'Hey, uh, Rachel? Listen, I've never been good with words and stuff, not to mention grammar, and spelling, and all that possessive and contractions stuff but, uh, where was I going with this again? And why the hell is there a clown in my closet? I'm fucking _messed up_." He groaned and slurred.

"But anyway, I just wanted to tell you that..." Finn ran his fingers through his hair again, "Fuck, I _really _need a haircut. Oh, right! I was about to say that I'm _real _sorry about flippin' out on you and stuff earlier. I was pretty mad. Not mad like, like _crazy_ mad. I'm not crazy!" He laughed. "I bet you probably think I'm crazy right now, huh? Man, I'm _so drunk_. Anyways, just, uh, call me back, or text me, something like that. Bye, Rach." Finn finished off, and snapped his phone shut. Groaning, he stood up, and locked his bedroom door, before jumping on his bed.

Once Rachel walked through the door to her house later that day, after Cheerio practice, she threw her bag and furiously groaned. She had just walked home from practice early, because it started raining. She had no ride because she told her father to go home, that she'd be staying late. An angry, frustrated, stressed Rachel in wet, soaking clothes was _not _a happy Rachel. As soon as she slammed the door, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was her mother, Shelby, laughing as she hurried to fix her messy hair, and straightened out her clothes. Rachel almost gagged at the thought of what she was doing with her father.

"_Mo-om!_ Could you two _not _do 'it' every time I'm at school a little late? I think I'm scarred for life now." Rachel whined, her nose scrunching in disgust as her mom laughed.

"Sorry, honey, but we've got to do it _some _time." Shelby said, humour filling her voice.

"Gross." Rachel commented, before kicking off her shoes and sitting on the couch. She crossed her arms, slouched and pouted, obviously trying to get some attention. Shelby realized this, and immediately went to ask. If she was trying to get attention, she wanted it for a reason.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Shelby asked, as she sat down next to her daughter.

"Nothing, mom." Rachel sighed, pretending to not want to talk about her problems, even though she so desperately did. She received a disbelieving look from Shelby, and immediately sucked her teeth, pretending she was giving in against her will. "_Alright, alright_. I'll tell you. You know how Finn and I are dating in secret? Yeah, well today in the school newspaper, _we _were the front page article. And well, we got into a...an _argument_ about it, because, well...I'm afraid of it affecting my, uh, popularity," Rachel finished quietly, eyes shifting between her mother and the ground in shame.

"Oh, uh," Shelby said awkwardly, "Well, honey, If I were you then I'd-"

"_Mo-om! _How many times have I told you to stay out of my business?" Rachel whined. Shelby

simply had an amused look gracing her features. She knew this game; she and Rachel were constantly pulling that joke out of the bag and using it against one another.

"I'm sorry!" Shelby declared, amused, putting her hands up in front of her in a surrender. Rachel was about to respond, when she felt someone place a kiss on the top of her head. She tilted her head to see who the person was, and realized it was her father. She was about to smile sweetly and say _'Hi Daddy'_ like she usually did, but then she remembered the previous _activity_ her parents were participating in prior to her arriving home.

"Hey, sweetheart, how are you?" Will asked smiling at his daughter before walking over and sitting next to Shelby, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Rachel, immediately forgetting her bad mood, raised her eyebrow at him.

"Don't you _hey sweetheart_ me. I know what you two were doing up there before I got home." She accused, glaring at the two, while Will simply looked guilty.

"Honey, our family is made of many self-proclaimed sex-sharks, if we stop moving, we _die._" Shelby dramatically exclaimed. Rachel scrunched her face, making a disgusted face.

"Ugh. I need a herbal tea and an aroma-therapeutic bath." Rachel moaned, getting up off the couch and heading toward the kitchen, leaving behind Shelby who was shaking from her silent laughter.

"Honey, why does our daughter act older than I do?" Shelby asked her husband, who simply laughed and patted her head.

"You had to grow up fast, hon. You were a teen on the Broadway scene, then there was _that night _and we had to retire early." Will comfortingly said as he rubbed her shoulders.

"Looking back, you think it was worth it?" Shelby asked softly. Will smiled.

"Definitely."

Rachel plopped on her bed, exhausted after the day she had. She settled down under the heavy, warm covers in her gold-star pyjamas after a long,soothing bath filled with a scent of lavender to help calm her down. The bath had certainly help with her frustrations, but she was still unsure about what to do. She notice there was an envelope on her nightstand beside her bed. Knowing the contents, she picked it up, and pulled out the pictures, beginning to flip through them. All of them were of her, Finn or her and Finn together, over the past few weeks.

Once specific picture had caught her attention, and she stopped on it. She smiled softly as she remembered the day it was taken. It was way back during the camping trip, the day that they had been on cabin arrest, and Finn was sprawled over his bed, wrappers and soda cans scattered around him. Rachel had taken that picture because he had a chocolate moustache, but mostly because he looked incredibly cute.

Even though they had hardly talked during that day, due to Finn's excessive eating and sleeping ritual, the times they had talked were the moments that made it so special. Although she would never admit it, it was probably one of her favorite days on the trip, next to the one after that day.

She smiled as she thought back to all their memories that they shared; even though they had only been dating a few weeks, they were nearly inseparable outside of school for those weeks, not to mention all the looks they had sneaked during class or in the hallway when no one was looking. It was at that moment that she had realized she didn't want to break up. She would admit to the school that she was dating Finn Hudson, and that she was _proud_, damn it.

The next morning, Rachel did something she hadn't done, _ever_. She skipped Cheerio practice. Sure, Coach Sylvester might kill her later, but she'd soon reconsider once she remembered that Rachel was as good as they get, other than Quinn, of course. She hadn't skipped for just anything, no, Rachel had a good reason. She had to make things right with Finn. So there she stood, bright and early, in her cheerleader uniform as usual, in front of Finn's locker, waiting for him to arrive.

Once he got to his locker, he barely made any acknowledgement of her existence. She patiently waited while he grabbed his books and threw them in his backpack, before placing her hand on his arm before he could turn away. She looked at him with a small smile, and those big, brown eyes that _no _man could resist.

"Finn?" She asked, with a subtle sweetness in the tone, "Could I talk to you...please?" Finn simply nodded, and allowed himself to be led to a small janitor's closet, as it was the closest door to them. In the dusty room, Rachel found the string that is to be pulled on to make the light bulb produce light, and watched as light filled the room, illuminating both their features.

"Talk." Finn croaked. "If you want to break up with me, do it fast 'cause I have to write my math homework that I didn't get around to last night."

"I'm not going to break up with you, Finn." Rachel said with a small, temperate laugh, "I definitely don't have the guts to, and besides, I don't want to." She smiled. "I think we've been through quite some interesting experiences, and that we need to experience more to grow in a relationship, and that's never going to happen if I break up with you, or if I fear people's opinions. Yeah, everyone knows, so what? We should just be open and honest with everyone, and if someone doesn't like it, then, well, I say, forget you."

Finn processed the information for a minute, before smiling and leaning down to capture her lips in a quick kiss.

"So how are we gonna do this thing?" Finn asked. He noticed a growing notorious smile on her face.

"I have a plan."

The two stood outside of the school the next day, Rachel going over the plan as Finn actually listened. For such a small girl, she sure knew how to take charge. A quality that Finn found, rather attractive.

"Alright, and then we end up at my locker, because it's in the center of the school." Rachel finished with, and Finn nodded, smirking.

"Got it, boss." With that, they turned towards the door, and just before entering, they took deep breaths and entangled their hands, and walked inside. Through the halls, kids stopped and watched in awe, whispering. Their reactions only fuelled Rachel even more, as her triumphing grin grew on her face. When they reached her locker, they noticed Jesse St. James, the reason that they were no longer a secret, standing there, waiting for her. Rachel just gave him a satisfied smirk, before she placed her hand on the back of Finn's neck, pulling it down as she went on her tip-toes and gave him a mind-blowing, passionate kiss which left Jesse with his mouth wide open in shock.

When they broke apart, both had a goofy grin etched onto their faces. While Jesse's was red with fury. He walked right through them, making sure to give Finn an extra hard shove, muttering, "Asshole," along the way.

"Thanks! Right back at 'cha!" Finn called as he past them. Rachel smiled at him, and re-locked hands with him,

making sure to entwine their fingers.

"Walk you to your locker?" She asked with a smile.

"Sure." Finn laughed, as they walked off.

Later that day, Finn was walking through the empty halls, as he was late to his 2th period Math class, when he suddenly got shoved into a nearby locker.

"Dude, what the hell?" He yelled aggressively. His eyes scanned the person, and recognized him as another one of his enemies, Jesse.

"Shut the hell up," Jesse growled, "You're not good enough for someone like Rachel. She deserves someone with

talent, aspirations. She deserves someone who can provide _options_. Who can show her a _future_ away from this cow town. You're not it, silly boy. I am. You'll never be good enough for her, and one day she'll realize that, and who will she come running to? Oh, that's right, _me_." He spat. Finn slightly struggled under the power of the curly-haired boy, but managed to flip them around.

"We'll just_ fucking_ see, won't we? Who says _you're_ good enough for her, either? Face it, _Jesse_,"Finn spat out his name in disgust, "If she wanted you, she would've gone after you by now. But wait...Isn't she still with that one guy...now who could he be? Oh, that's right, _me_." Finn mocked.

"Fuck you." Jesse sneered.

"Sorry, honey, I don't swing that way. Besides, I've got a girlfriend." Finn scornfully gloated, earning him a fist to the nose. He felt his anger rise in him, and retorted with a punch to Jesse's nose. This carried on, each of them returning a blow to the same place where they were previously hit. By now, a fire alarm had rang, and each of them were on the floor, grabbing each other by the shirt and delivering hits to the other on whatever part of them they could get their hands on. They were then surrounded by a large group of students chanting 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' but they could careless. Jesse was just about to go for a kick in the most sensitive point on a male's body, before Mr. Schuester and another teacher were pulling them apart. Finn sighed in relief as he saw he was not going to get kicked where the sun don't shine.

"Guys, what has gotten into you?" Mr. Schuester said in a stern, clearly disappointed voice. "Return to your classes, there's nothing to see here!" He demanded. When the students weren't obeying, his voice got loud.

"NOW!" He yelled, and the students scattered in multiple directions, no one noticing Rachel hiding behind the corner of the wall.

"Would you guys like to explain why exactly you were fighting?" Mr. Coy, the other teacher, asked.

"I-I punched him first, Sir." Jesse confessed. He sure talked a lot, but he was actually a _wimp_ and a goody-two shoes.

"Jesse, please follow us to the principal's office. Finn, get cleaned up and get to class, we will discuss your inevitable punishment for participating in such barbaric behavior later." Mr. Schuester said, as the trio began to walk away.

When they were out of sight, Finn ran his hand through his fair in frustration and ended up punching a wall in his negative emotional state. He hissed in pain, almost forgetting his gushing nose bleed, and waved his hand around. Rachel came out of her hiding and ran to him, engulfing him in a hug.

"R-Rach, what are you doing here?" He asked, surprised.

"I was here since the fire alarm went off. What can I say? I'm an amazing hider!" She exclaimed happily, before dragging him by his good hand into the bathroom. By now, Finn didn't really care about going into a girl's bathroom. Once again, he was sat down on the same latter, and once again, Rachel was sitting on his lap, using a tissue and stopped the blood flow by pushing his head back. She then got a wet tissue and cleaned off the excess residue of the blood, and place a small kiss on his lips.

"What were you guys fighting over?" She asked, as she picked up his right hand, the hand that had been injured by the wall, and kissed it.

"Uh, nothing."Finn lied immediately, but Rachel didn't buy it.

"Please, tell me, Finn." She pleaded, throwing in her signature puppy-dog face, ending in Finn caving.

"He said I'm not good enough for you." Finn said in a raspy voice, "And while I know it's true, it still kinda hurts, you know?" Rachel placed her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her square in the eyes.

"Finn, you're plenty good enough for me. Don't let _anyone _tell you otherwise, and if they do, don't think anything of it. Because if you weren't, I wouldn't be with you right now, would I?" Finn smiled and shook his head.

"No. You're Rachel Berry. You always know what you want. _Always_."Rachel tapped his nose lightly, careful not to hurt the already injured piece.

"Exactly. And who does Rachel Berry want? Rachel Berry wants Finn Hudson." She grinned as she said that.

"Well, she's got him." Finn replied.

"And she's about to let the whole school know that she's proud of that." Rachel declared as she jumped off his lap.

"What?"

"Follow me." Rachel said as she grabbed his hand and ran out the bathroom, dragging him behind her.

By the time Rachel figured out exactly what she wanted to say, it was lunch time. She had earlier quickly snuck into Miss Sylvester's office and stole one of her megaphones. Now, the two were in the cafeteria, and Rachel dragged Finn by hand to an empty table in the middle of the room, and stood up on it.

"Excuse me, excuse me, may I have the attention of the room, please?" Rachel called through the small voice-enhancer. The whole room turned silent, facing her. "As most of you may have read the school newspapers two days ago, you may have read that Finn Hudson and I are dating. And I'd just like to confirm that rumor." She declared, earning gasps and 'I knew it!'s.

"And I'd just like to let anyone and _everyone_ know that, if you have _any_ problems with this, that you should freakin' deal with it, or get a therapist." She finished and jumped off the table, sealing the deal with a big, sloppy kiss.

"Berry!" Boomed a voice, that broke Finn and Rachel apart. Sue Sylvester was now walking towards them. "First of all, no PDA. I don't want to see you two swapping spit, especially on and empty or full stomach. Second, R, don't steal my megaphones again. Or I will have you deported to Israel." She growled.

"Miss Sylvester, I was born here." Rachel pointed out. Sue grabbed the megaphone, and gave her one last look.

"I don't care if you were born in Japan, Hawaii and England at the same time, I just had Savannah cleaned."

"You name your megaphones?" Finn asked with an amused laugh.

"Shut up."

* * *

_Alright, what did you think? Please review, review, review! Let's aim for 20-25 this time! I'd appreciate it a whole lot. I lessthanthree you all._

_Anyways, in this story, there are four classes per day. I based it on how my school's schedule works, and I go to a non-semestered school, so..yeah =/_

_Any suggestions for the next chapter would be appreciated. I have one basic idea, but I don't think it's enough for the whole chapter. So, what would you like to see?_

_:) xxx 3 3_

_M._


	16. Chapter 16

_I know I promised a chapter last week, but my something happened to my laptop, and it wouldn't let me on without restarting every 10 minutes, so I apologize :S In this story, Rachel is a vegetarian instead of a vegan, mostly, because it would be must easier for me to write her as a vegetarian, considering I am one, so I would know exactly what she'd be able to eat. :)_

_Anyways, Happy-belated Thanksgiving to all the American readers!_

**_Disclaimer: Don't own Glee._**

* * *

"_Hey, uh, Rachel? Listen, I've never been good with words and stuff, not to mention grammar, and spelling, and all that possessive and contractions stuff but, uh, where was I going with this again? And why the hell is there a clown in my closet? I'm fucking messed up. But anyway, I just wanted to tell you that...Fuck, I really need a haircut. Oh, right! I was about to say that I'm real sorry about flippin' out on you and stuff earlier. I was pretty mad. Not mad like, like crazy mad. I'm not crazy! I bet you probably think I'm crazy right now, huh? Man, I'm so drunk. Anyways, just, uh, call me back, or text me, something like that. Bye, Rach." _Rachel was at home and she had finally discovered the voice mail Finn had left for her, and she was replaying it over and over. She had sworn she could hear him say something about being drunk, and she was pretty sure that he was slurring his words.

_'Finn couldn't have been drunk, right?' _She tried to reassure herself, to no avail. It was pointless to try to convince herself otherwise, Finn had been _drunk_. Rachel sat up and hopped off of her bed, then began pacing around the room, nibbling on her thumbnail. _'Did I upset him that much?'_ She wondered as she ran her hand through her hair.

She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, before sitting on the small bench in front of her vanity. She proceeded to tie her hair in a loose ponytail while biting her lip. _'I've got to talk him out of it somehow...he should know that underage drinking is not only illegal, but it can cause many health problems down the road.' _Rachel sighed and got up. Her mind was racing, she simply _must _help Finn somehow. First, she needs to talk to him about it.

_'To Finn- Hey, Finn. Wanna meet up tomorrow? -From Rachel' _She quickly texted before crawling into bed and waiting for a reply.

_'To Rachel- Sure? When?- From Finn' _

_'To Finn- Sometime we can be alone. After school maybe?-From Rachel'_

_'To Rachel-You got it, Rach.- From Finn' _Rachel's fingers hovered over the keys, not quite sure what to text back.

_'To Finn- Goodnight Finn.- From Rachel'_

_'To Rachel- Night R.- From Finn'_

Rachel sat on a bench outside of the school, bouncing her knee anxiously, waiting for Finn to find her. She checked the time on her phone before looking in all directions to see if he's coming. _3:14_. Still no sign of him. She began to recite what she was going to say to him, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Rachel?" A soft voice called. _'That's not Finn'_ she thought, before turning around to see who the familiar voice belonged to. There stood a blonde girl on crutches. _Quinn_. It was her bestfriend. _'Oh well, better get this little you-shouldn't-date-Finn speech over with'_

"Hey, Quinn." Rachel responded in a bright voice that was reserved for Quinn.

"Can I...talk to you?" Quinn asked hesitantly.

"Um, actually I was supposed to be meeting someone.."

"It won't take long. Just a quick chat, then you can get back to Finn." She said, and Rachel nodded after contemplating it for a minute. Rachel stood up and helped Quinn sit down on the bench, before sitting down beside her.

"Quinn, I-" Rachel began, but Quinn put her hand up signifying that it was her turn to talk.

"Rachel, Rach, Rachie, listen to me. Being off the Cheerios for the past few weeks has given me plenty of time to think about things. I've come to realize that... I don't know the answer to everything. Sure, being popular is great, but you're the _captain _of the Cheerios. You don't have to worry about your popularity falling. You could date _Jacob _and other girls would start fawning over him, because he's cool by association."

"Quinn, what are you getting at?" Rachel asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What I'm saying is that, Rachel, even though it probably doesn't matter that I'm saying this, but you should date Finn. Well, you're already dating him, but, I mean.. you have my full support. I am one hundred percent behind you and your decision to date him." Quinn finished off with a soft smile directed at Rachel. The brunette immediately returned the smile, and hugged her blonde friend.

"Thanks Quinn. It means a lot that you're not against me." Rachel said.

"I could never be against you, Rachie. You're my bestfriend, and I love you to death. We're like _sisters_," Quinn said with a soft chuckle.

"From another mister." Rachel retorted with a smirk, and the two burst into a fit of laughter.

"Rachel, yeah, I'm happy for you and all that jazz, but we really haven't hung out in a while. I miss hanging out with you."

"Aw, Quinn..." Rachel sympathetically cooed, wrapping up Quinn in a hug, "I'm sorry. You're right, we haven't hung out in a while, and I miss it too. Um.. how about we have a sleepover at my house Friday night?"

"Sounds great." Quinn replied with a grin.

"Hey, Quinn!" called a blond boy that was running towards the girls. He was wearing a Letterman jacket, so Rachel figured he was on the football team. Once he reached them, Rachel realized he was the Quarterback, Sam Evans. "I've been looking for you everywhere, Quinn." Sam said, slightly out of breath.

"Well you found me." Quinn retorted, earning a grin from Sam. He leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek, before helping her up.

"We should get going, Quinn. My mom's waiting at home, she's excited to meet my girlfriend." Sam said. Rachel's eyes widened as she looked between the two.

"You're dating Sam?" Rachel asked in shock.

"Yeah.. I guess I didn't get around to telling you about that." Quinn replied sheepishly, blushing when Sam took her hand.

"Hey, Rachel." Sam greeted with a warm grin and a head nod

"Hello, Sam. Quinn, we'll discuss this Friday night, you two kids run along now." Rachel jokingly shooed them while imitating an elderly lady voice. When she was alone, she checked her phone yet again. _3:26_ And Finn _still _was nowhere to be seen. Rachel sighed and decided to call him.

_'Hello?'_ Finn's voice rang through the device.

"Finn, where are you? I've been waiting for almost half an hour."

_'Shit. Sorry, Rach. I was talking to your dad about my punishment. I'm at my locker now, I'll be right out. Where are you?'_

"Uh, I'm on the bench near the front door." Rachel told him.

_'Alright. See you in a few.' _With that, Rachel hung up, and resumed bouncing her knee. Very soon, Finn came into view and he walked up to Rachel.

"Hey Rach." Finn greeted with a smile. Rachel pulled his hand, hinting at him to sit down. Finn had apparently gotten the hint and sat down next to her. "What's up? What did you wanna talk about?"

"Finn, do you drink?" Rachel bluntly asked, catching Finn off-guard. His eyes widened at the sudden correct accusation.

"Um, w-what?" He stuttered nervously, hoping that it didn't show in his voice.

"Please, Finn, don't beat around the bush. I listened to the voice mail you sent me the other night, and you said you were _drunk_. Just tell me, do you drink?"

"Uh...Um," Finn fumbled, before he sighed in defeat. There was no point in lying to her. Rachel would find out one way or another. "Yes." There was silence between them for a few moments.

"Why?"

"It's... kinda one of my escapes." Finn informed her. Rachel turned to look at him with one eyebrow cocked.

"_One _of your escapes?" She asked, receiving a nod. "What other escapes do you have, Finn?" Rachel asked. When Finn didn't answer, Rachel began to question him. "D...drugs?" She asked in a whisper. Finn did not answer, so Rachel took it as a yes. "Finn..."

"I'm sorry..." Finn croaked. "It's just... that's the only way I know how to handle things. When everything seems to suck, I just... you know, and then I don't feel anything bad anymore."

"There are other ways of handling things, Finn." Rachel told him. "You could get involved in sports, or you know, you could talk to your _girlfriend _about it. I'm sure she'd love to help."

"Sorry, Rach.." Finn said sadly.

"Don't apologize, Finn. We... I'll help you through this." Rachel declared, then grabbed his hand and enlaced their fingers together.

"You will?" Finn asked, receiving a nod from Rachel.

"Definitely. I care about you deeply, Finn. I wouldn't let you suffer. I just wish you would've told me yourself, and earlier, instead of having to find out like this." Rachel scolded. Finn leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Sorry, Rach."

"Come to my house for Thanksgiving tomorrow night." Rachel said.

"Sure."

Finn let out a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. He was standing outside his girlfriend's house, about to ring the doorbell. He was hesitant, because honestly? He was extremely nervous. It was going to be the first time he had dinner with her family. Well, the first time that he was out as her boyfriend. Not to mention it was a _Thanksgiving_ dinner. Finn let out another shaky breath, shifted the box in his left hand and rang the doorbell.

Soon, the door opened revealing Will Schuester.

"Good evening, Finn! We've been expecting you. Come on in." Will said, greeting the boy and moved to the side so Finn could walk in. He followed Will into the kitchen, where Shelby and Rachel were setting the table.

"Hello, Finn, dear. How are you?" Shelby brightly greeted. Finn thought it was sort of scary how much Shelby and Rachel were alike, not just in looks, but in personality.

"Hey, Mrs. Berry. I'm fine, you?" Finn politely responded. He held out his hands which were both occupied with items. "I brought pie for dessert and I got you some flowers, Mrs. Berry."

"Oh, how thoughtful!" Shelby cooed and walked over to accept the items Finn had brought. "Thank you, Finn."

"Why don't you and Rachel go do something? We'll call you when dinner's ready." Will suggested. Rachel nodded, bounced over to Finn. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room.

"Finn.." Rachel began, pulling Finn down to sit on her bed facing her. She took his right hand and clasped hers around his. "I just want to let you know that I care about you. A lot. And I care about your health, and...whenever you feel like you're going to drink because you're upset, or you're hurting, I want you to come talk to me. That's what I'm here for, Finn. If you ever need me, no matter what the reason, I want you to talk to me about it, okay? Because I like you a lot." Rachel finished.

"I-I," Finn stuttered. "I like you too." He told her, and realized it wasn't a lie. He _did _like Rachel. "And because I like you, I'll try. I can't promise anything, but I'll _try_." Rachel smiled and placed both of her hands on his cheeks and began rubbing his cheek with her thumb.

"That's all I ask." She said, before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on his mouth. He immediately reciprocated and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. This kiss was extremely slow and full of emotions. Soon they both pulled back due to lack of air. Rachel smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, then leaned against his chest.

"How's work?" She asked dazed, her eyes closed as she inhaled his scent.

"It's going good. How's cheer leading going?" He asked, resting his chin on her head.

"Good." Rachel replied, nuzzling her head against his chest. "Finn, you should try out for the football team. You said you like playing, so why not?" She asked.

"I shouldn't.."

"And why not?" Rachel whined, grabbing a handful of his dress shirt. "Because those neanderthals have a stupid opinion that no one really cares for? Finn, don't let them run your life."

"I probably wouldn't make it anyway..."

"You will." Rachel stated.

"Yeah right. Not even Jesus believes that I could." Finn argued.

"I believe in you." Rachel said, and pulled her head off his chest, before kissing him passionately.

"Rachel! Finn! Dinner!" Will called from the stairs. Rachel sighed. Just as she was getting _comfortable_, they had to be interrupted. She stood up and offered her hand to Finn, who accepted it. The couple walked into the kitchen holding hands. Rachel sat down at the table and patted the chair next to her, motioning for Finn to sit beside her. He obliged.

"Hope you're both hungry," Shelby said as she sat down. "there's plenty of food." Rachel noticed Finn eyeing something on the table in confusion, and decided to explain what it was.

"That's tofurky," Rachel explained, "My mom and I are vegetarians, dad's not, but he deals with our food." Rachel looked at Finn who looked skeptically at the fake meat. She leaned closer to him and whispered, "It tastes a lot better than it looks, I promise." She assured him as reached for his hand under the table, and squeezed it. Will began to cut the tofurky and served a chunk to the four. Everyone began to pass around the food and put some on their plates.

"So, Finn, how are you doing in school?" Shelby asked as they all began to eat. They heard Will snort, and they all turned to look at him.

"Are you kidding? Finn's one of my best students in Spanish." He said.

"Seriously?" Rachel asked. Her father nodded.

"I'm doing well in English, Music, Spanish and , and I'm passing the others." Finn jumped in.

"That's great! Are you planning to go to any colleges?" Will asked. "If you need a recommendation letter, I'd be glad to vouch for you."

"Wow, thanks Mr. Schuester. That's really cool of you. I was think of maybe..Ohio State? Or possibly something that's out of state. Not quite too sure yet." Finn replied. "What about you, Rach?"

"Julliard. _Definitely_ Julliard. Or perhaps UCLA." Rachel immediately commented.

"Those are excellent choices." Will said.

"Julliard, huh, honey? New York?" Shelby asked, receiving a nod.

"Yes, definitely. I've always wanted to visit New York." Rachel said.

"Rachel, you've been to New York plenty of times when you were little." Will informed her. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. _'I've been to New York?'_ She asked herself mentally.

"What?" Rachel inquired.

"Another story for another time, darling. Who wants dessert?" Shelby called, hopping out of her seat and bringing out the pie that Finn had brought. She served everyone a slice and they began to dig in.

"This is good pie."

"It's delicious."

"It's great, Finn."

"Thanks, I bought it myself."

Finn shuffled nervously outside the locker room, waiting for the football players to clear out. Rachel had talked him into trying out for the team, and Finn was going to try out. Coach Bieste then exited the room.

"Uh, Coach Bieste?" Finn called. The woman turned around.

"Yes? Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Finn Hudson."

"What can I do you for, Finn?" The coach impatiently asked, tapping her hand against the clip board that was in her possession.

"I'd like to try out for the team." Finn declared.

"Seriously?" She asked, trying to hide a laugh that was forming in her throat. Finn nodded. "Alright then, go get suited up. There's some extra equipment in the backroom of the locker room. And hurry, I haven't got all day, Hudson." With that, Bieste walked away. At the end of try outs, Finn jogged back to Bieste panting.

"So, how'd I do, coach?" He asked between breaths.

"I think we have our new wide receiver!" Coach Bieste announced enthusiastically. "I knew you had it in you, son. First practice is tomorrow after school._ 3:15_ sharp. Don't be late."

* * *

_Like it? Hate it? Please review and give me suggestions for the next chapter. What should Quinn and Rachel talk about/do/play during their sleepover? Should there be a 'mystery' guest? And would you like to see the other characters making an appearance? What would you like to see them do? I haven't really planned for them, so anything is acceptable, and I'll try to write it in with the story._

_:) xxx 3 3_

_CookieDoughSundae_


	17. Chapter 17

_GUESS WHO'S BAAAAACK? :)_

* * *

"Snacks?" Rachel asked, looking from the clipboard in her hands to the table full of munchies, "Check," She checked the box beside the word and went down the list, reading each word and checking them.

"The only thing missing is Quinn..." Right as she spoke, the doorbell rang. Rachel made her way over to the door and opened it with a smile on her face. She came face-to-face with none other than the girl she was expecting: Quinn Fabray.

"And Check," Rachel says with a small laugh, while Quinn looks confused. The girls embrace, and Rachel helps Quinn inside, leading her to the living room where she had set up.

"Wow, you really went all out, huh, Rachie?" Quinn asked with her eyebrow raised, looking over the food, movies and assorted pillows and blankets. Rachel puffed out her chest and smirked.

"It's the only way Rachel Berry does it." At that, Quinn gave her a questioning look, followed by a laugh.

"Well, are we going to get this thing going, or what?" Quinn jested, lightly poking Rachel's leg with the end of her crutch. Rachel chuckled, then answered.

"Ready if you are."

And so the girls began their sleepover. One that was long overdue. They started off by watching _Just Go With It_, and during the middle of it, they were interrupted by Rachel's parents leaving the house, assuring Rachel who was intensely glaring at them for interrupting their much need and pre-planned night, that they would not be interrupting them again, for they were heading out for the weekend, as they did every so often when Mr. Schuester did not have any papers to grade. They said their goodbyes quickly, as Rachel was ushering them out the door, giving them each a kiss on the cheek before settling back down next to Quinn. Before they knew it, the movie finished.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Rachel asked, turning to her blonde best friend while throwing a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth.

"Catch up, I guess? It's been so long since we've had one of our sleepovers, it feels new to me," She laughed. Rachel nodded, and gave a light chuckle. "So, now, explain about you and Finn," Quinn declared, causing Rachel to blush.

"Um, well...we're going out..." She replied dumbly.

"I _know _that, thank you, Captain Obvious."

"You're welcome, Sergeant Sarcasm!" Rachel mocked earning a laugh.

"But really, Rachie, I want _all _of the details. Now." Quinn demanded. So Rachel began telling her of their bonding on the school camping trip, their first date, Finn's jealousy over one Jesse St. James, who simply would _not _let her be, making sure to leave out Finn's drug and alcohol problem and their hidden looks in class before they let the school know they were dating.

"_Awwww! _That's adorable, Rachie! Although...and don't get offended by this, he doesn't seem like a very..._romantic_ guy. You know, the kind you've always pictured yourself with?" The blonde pointed out.

"I know, Quinn, I know. He doesn't really like sharing his feelings, but he's really starting to open up to me. And I know he doesn't do cutesy stuff like bring me flowers for every date, write me romantic songs and sing them in the pouring rain outside of my house, but there are these little _things _that he does, which shows that he cares for me. Like, he _always _texts me in the morning when he wakes up, and...when I glance in his direction in Spanish class, and he notices, the right corner of his mouth twitches up in a small half-smile that he _only _gives _me_. He _always_ holds the door open for me, and he's made an effort to get to know my parents. He actually _talks _to them. Not like any of the previous boys I've brought home." Rachel inhaled deeply when she ran out of air, pausing briefly.

"He's not the perfect boyfriend. But those little things he does, probably without knowing that I notice them, make him _so_ much better than a romantic boyfriend." She finished, looking over to her best friend, noticing that she's got tears in her eyes.

"Rachel, that's the cutest thing I've ever hear! You should _totally _write romance novels!" Quinn exclaimed, squirming happily from the place she's seated.

"_Riiiigghttt..._" She dragged on awkwardly, staring at her friend as if she had grown a second head.

"Seriously. Think about it, Rachie. You and Finn as the main characters, unable to be together because of society. It's a bit cliche, and it's been done before, but, by golly, you're _Rachel Barbra Berry_. You can make anything your own!" Quinn finished, with stars in her eyes.

"Quinnie, honey, as soon as Monday rolls around, we're going to have you do a little drug test, alright?" Rachel sweetly replied, gently patting her hand in a comforting manner in fear of her best friend going insane any minute. Deciding to switch the topic, Rachel said, "And what about you and Sam, huh? When did that happen? I didn't even know you liked blonds!"

"Uh..." This was when Quinn became nervous. She inhaled deeply, and figured there was no lying to her best friend, so she should tell her the truth. "The truth is, R, that I'm only using Sam." She began. Rachel's face was full

of bewilderment.

"What?" The short brunette asked.

"Let me explain. It started when I broke my leg. I got temporarily kicked off the cheerios, Rachie, for who knows how long! I don't know when my leg is going to heal up, and I was so scared that I'd never be able to cheer again. I can't _live_ without being popular, R! I'd lose my popularity for sure! So I started dating the Quarterback, knowing that he could keep me popular, despite my..._feelings _for someone else..." Quinn finished, her face slightly flushed.

"Feelings for _who_?" Rachel asked, suddenly a lot more interested in this conversation.

"P-Puck..." She replied, blushing even more as Rachel gasped.

"You mean _Noah _'Puck' Puckerman? _That _Puck? When did _this _happen?" Rachel exclaimed, excitedly.

"I don't know, I mean, on the trip... he was such a pervert, but when we got back, he started being..._sort of _sweet, especially after I broke my ankle...which he witnessed, and somewhere down the line... I guess I developed some feelings for him."

"Aw! Quinn! How did I know you were going to fall for him? Who's the Queen?" Rachel bragged.

"But I didn't fa-" Quinn began but got cut off.

"Who. Is. The. Queen?" Rachel asked once again, making sure to enunciate each word.

"Rachel Berry is the Queen." Quinn replied, huffing.

"That's right. And don't you forget it!"

Despite usually never actually sleeping at their sleepovers, Rachel and Quinn, for some reason, were really sleepy. They laid in their sleeping bags, their eyelids heavy, while the television played a chick flick in the background. The door in the backyard swung open, followed by it swinging shut, which caused Rachel to jump up in surprise.

"What was that?" Quinn whispered, as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"I don't know.." Rachel quivered. "I'm going to check it out." She said.

"Wait! Take one of my crutches, for protection purposes." Quinn said handing her a metal crutch.

"If I don't come back alive, bury my musicals with me." Rachel then walked to the back door, opening it, and

stepping into the nature of her backyard.

"Who's out here?" She shouted. The rustling in the bush caught her attention. She slowly strode towards it, the metal crutch rising to her shoulder just as slowly. Using the bottom of the crutch, she pushed through the bush, searching for a body. What was coming, got her heart racing in fear, as she jumped and screamed.

"Hello, my darling!" Jacob shouted gleefully. Rachel quickly brought down the crutch on his head, knocking him out cold, before running back inside and locking every door.

"What was it Rachel?" Quinn asked, suddenly nervous by Rachel's actions.

"Finn. I need to call Finn. He will know what to do. WHERE IS MY CELL PHONE?" Rachel screamed, frantically searching through the pile of candy, before finding it and holding the '3' button, which was Finn's speed dial number.

_'Ugh. Hello?' _Finn groggily asked.

"Finn. I need you to come over right now. Quinn and I are alone, and someone is in the backyard, and I'm scared!" Rachel hysterically cried into the speaker.

_'Calm down, Rach, I'll be there ASAP.'_ He declared before hanging up. Rachel would not speak until Finn arrived, and whenever Quinn would question her, she'd just let out a wail, and many incoherent sobs. Within 10 minutes, Finn arrived, knocking on the door furiously while shouting Rachel's name. Rachel jumped up, quickly opening the door and throwing herself at him once she closed and locked it again.

"Rach, Rachel, I want you to calm down, okay?" Finn whispered sweetly. Rachel simply nodded. "Alright, where is this psychotic bastard?"

"Finn! Language!" Rachel scolded while slapping his arm.

"There's a creeper in your backyard and you worry about me swearing. Glad you have your priorities straight." Finn mumbled. "Did you happen to see him?" Rachel nodded. "Well, do you recognize him?" She nodded once more. "...well... Who is it?"

"It's... Jew Fro!" Rachel sobbed into him once again. Finn began to laugh. "What, will you care to explain, is so funny?"

"It's just that... he's _harmless_, Rach." Finn chuckled, but apparently Rachel did not find it humorous at all.

"Yeah? And what if he would've _raped_ me back there? Huh?" Finn's face suddenly grew very dark.

"Don't joke about stuff like that, Rachel." He muttered darkly. "And what the _hell _are you doing walking outside in the middle of the night when you hear the door open and close? What if it was a murderer?" He angrily bit. Just as Rachel was about to argue back, they heard a sound coming from the glass back door. Sure enough, there was Jacob, pressed against the glass, smiling at Rachel's pyjamas. Finn sighed and let go of Rachel, heading towards the door. He opened it while Jacob was still pressed against it, causing him to fall.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing at my girlfriend's house, at 2 a.m nonetheless?" He spat at the gingery cloud head.

"I am sorry, your majesty! Please don't kill me, for I am but a simple peasant who wants nothing but your mercy in disturbing your princess and her company's slumber!" Jacob pleaded, spewing what was complete non-sense in Finn's eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about? And what's with all these weird-ass names." Finn asked, confusedly.

"Sir, do not misunderstand my intentions, please."

"And just what the _hell _were your intentions?" The 6'3 brown haired boy demanded.

"I had to see her!" Jacob exclaimed!

"Excuse your face?" Finn uttered angrily.

"You do not deserve the beauty and Lima royalty that is Miss. Rachel Berry. Even though you could beat me into a bloody pulp, you could never satisfy her in bed like I can!" Jacob declared. "Rachel! Rachel, darling, dump this zero, and get with the Jew-Fro!"

"First of all, Jacob, do not call me _darling_. Secondly, that was horrible, it didn't even rhyme. Thirdly, this has been going on since the third grade, and now you've taken it to the extreme, and I still can't tell you enough that _I. WILL. NEVER. LIKE. YOU!_" Rachel shouted.

"You heard her, skedaddle." Finn growled.

"Seriously, Finn?" Rachel asked. "No one says that anymore."

"Does that really matter, right now, Rachel?" Finn replied, frustrated. "He broke into your backyard. Does it really matter which word I use to tell him to get lost?"

"I'm just saying, Finn. You could get with the times, maybe..."

"RACHEL! Stop it! This is ridiculous." Finn threw his arms up in anger. Rachel sighed, knowing that she shouldn't be arguing about something so silly with him, but she just _loved_ seeing him angry.

"Fine. We shall continue this discussion later." Rachel sentenced. "Jacob, seriously, get out of here." With that, Finn took it as his cue to drag Jacob through the kitchen, living room, and out the door while Jacob screamed "I love you darling! Goodbye, darling!" as he was being dragged. When that business was finished, Finn sighed, for being woken up on a false alarm.

"Well, I'd better be going now. Goodnight." He said, turning to the door.

"Wait! Finn, why don't you stay? It _is_ pretty late..." Rachel suggested, biting her lip at her boldness, and for also asking a boy, her _boyfriend_ to sleepover.

"I wouldn't want to interrupt your little girl's night." He said while shaking his head. Before Rachel could argue, Finn opened the door and shouted his goodbyes to both girls, and to call him if there was anything they needed.

"Jerk." Rachel huffed, marching back to her sleeping bag. She tossed and turned, trying to get back into sleep, until she gave up. Quinn was watching her through the whole thing.

"I can't sleep." Rachel declared.

"Neither can I." Quinn agreed.

"Let's check out Facebook!" Rachel decided, then quickly ran up to her room to grab her laptop. She moved small candy bags out of the way to make room for the laptop, then placed it on the coffee table. She signed in and began to scroll through her news feed. A relationship status caught her eye.

"Hey, Quinn! Look! Santana's in a relationship!" Rachel hollered. Quinn dragged herself beside Rachel to stare at the screen, and gasped at the other name. _Puck_. Her stomach churned at the thought of them together. Her mouth became dry as her eyes filled with tears. She felt Rachel's arms wrap around her shoulders for support, but all she could _really _feel was jealousy. And right now, a deep hatred for Santana.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Quinn, I never even read the other name. I shouldn't have told you! I'm so, _so_, _so_, _so, so, so, so-_" Rachel profusely apologized, but Quinn interrupted her.

"No. It's alright. I'm glad you told me. You know what? Good for him. He should be moving on." Quinn said, shaking off her tears. "Even if it is with that fake-boobed whore." She muttered under her breath.

"Let's just try to get some sleep, okay? That's what would be best for you right now. You need to refresh your brain." The brunette suggested, closing the laptop and heading back to her sleeping bag. Quinn soon followed suit, after deeply inhaling to calm her sudden nerves. _'Noah Puckerman... I'm going to get you back. Just you wait.' _She thought. _'Santana, watch your back. Quinn Fabray is going into this war armed, and dangerous.'_

* * *

_Hey, everyone! First off, I'd like to apologize for being away and not updating for so long. I kinda got thrown out of Glee for a while, ever since the Finchel break up, actually. But now I'm back full throttle! I can't really say when the next update will be, since I have many culminating assignments, but I will definitely be writing during this time. I'm also going to be going away for the summer, and I won't have much time to update, but I will write whenever I can, and I will post the chapters as soon as I can._

___I want to thank each and every one of you for continuing to review and read this, and my other stories in my absence. I've checked the views this morning, and I absolutely could not wait to get this up. I planned to have another part in this, but I decided I'd rather update this and then write the other part into the beginning of the next chapter._

_____**And... Other Glee characters will be added VERY soon! =)**_

_______Enjoy and please review :)_

_______P.S, It'd be totally awesome and inspiring if this story could get to 175 reviews before the next chapter ;)_


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